Marcus Smart's Defensive Player of the Year campaign...it's complicated

Marcus Smart's impact defensively has been huge for the Celtics when you watch them play. But the biggest challenge for him in being Defensive Player of The Year may come from his own teammates.

When you talk to those who are on the court and see up-close what Marcus Smart does, it’s a no-brainer to them that he’s a strong contender for the league's Defensive Player of the Year award.

Boston has the league’s best defense statistically, and he has consistently proven to be the team’s best defender.

In their most recent game, a 114-103 win over Detroit, Smart scored 20 points to go with five assists and five steals. A deeper dive into his night showed that only five shots were taken against him.

Only one went in.

I had a conversation recently with Celtics center Robert Williams III, whom I asked about both his candidacy for DPOTY as well as Smart for the league’s top defensive honor.

“I appreciate people talking me up for that, don’t get me wrong,” Williams told me in an exclusive one-on-one interview. “But shit, really, that’s Smart’s award. He’s the real Defensive Player of the Year. It shouldn’t even be a debate this year.

But it is, and Williams along with the other core guys on the league’s best defense are the reasons why.

The eye test tells us clearly that Smart is an elite, top-shelf defender who despite being 6-foot-4, has the ability to defend damn near every position on the floor.

There's the diving on the floor, the corralling of loose balls, jumping into passing lanes that either leads to a direct turnover via steal or forces the ball-handler to travel.

Former teammate Terry Rozier told me a great story about when they faced the Atlanta Hawks a couple of years ago, and how Paul Millsap was absolutely torching them in the first half.

Smart spent the entire second half harassing Millsap defensively.

“When I say Paul Millsap didn’t get nothing…you can’t ask for more than what Smart gave us right there,” Rozier said. “Paul’s a good player, don’t get me wrong. But Smart locked him up in the second half.”

It was Smart's competitive drive on display that game that Rozier remembers the most, a competitive spirit that Rozier admits led to him and Smart having their share of run-ins with each other when they were teammates.

"We almost came to blows a couple of times early on," Rozier said in an exclusive interview. "We were both young, competitive and those battles in practice made us both better. I'm not saying this because we were teammates. I'm saying this because it's the truth! Smart, that's the real Defensive Player of the Year. His presence out there defensively is unlike anybody else out there in the game."

In Boston, we have seen countless examples of Smart’s defensive wizardry mesmerizing players into making inexplicable mistakes, like Smart drawing back-to-back offensive fouls against James Harden in the backcourt in less than seven seconds to help Boston squeak out the win.

And while Smart scores high when it comes to the eye test, the analytics show that his stiffest competition for the award comes from within his own locker room.

Smart’s defensive rating this season is 104.2 which ranks among the top guards in the NBA. But it trails not one but two teammates, Al Horford (102.2) and Jayson Tatum (103.0) who rank second and third in the NBA, respectively, among players who have appeared in as many games (58) as Smart this season.

When it comes to contested shots, opponents are shooting 44.7 percent against Smart this season. That too is solid, but not as good as Al Horford (41.9 percent), Tatum (42.7), or Derrick White (44.2 percent)

There's a long list of statistical data that cements Smart's place among the better defenders. But again, most of that data also highlights how other Celtics players have also had a significant impact on what has been an elite defense this season.

Smart has already braced himself for the likelihood that he won't win the award, knowing there's more to winning the award than stats especially when you're a guard.

"I don't see why it's so hard for a guard to win it," Smart told reporters recently. "For us (guards) to not even be talked about or even win it, that's some BS. It's a popularity contest."

Smart added, "I'm not stressed about it. I don't play the game for individual accolades. I play the game to win games. That's my job. Whatever comes with it, I'm blessed to have, blessed to be in the discussion. But it does suck for us guards who grind, sacrifice our bodies...it's tough but for me, it is what it is. I'm here to win games."