Marcus Smart on Ja Morant: He has done everything the league and team has asked of him

Marcus Smart: And I think that was the hardest part over anything other than everything I have done. The way that I carry myself and the respect that I give, just to not get a heads-up. ‘Hey this is what we are doing …’ But there is no bad blood. Like I said, it’s a business. With that being said, you do business the right way and that is you don’t mix pleasure with business and that’s where you get in trouble. I can’t get mad in it for the business side. It’s just the respect and the fact that I’ve done so much for this organization and in this community that the least I deserve is a little heads- up. -via Andscape / January 5, 2024

Do you have to be careful not to be overbearing as a mentor? Marcus Smart: No. No. That’s what I’m here for. I’m not here to sugarcoat anything. I’m not here to baby anybody. I’m here to be a professional and teach these guys how to do the same thing. I understand what it takes. Winning is hard. Winning and trying to get to where we want to get to is even harder. And it’s going to take a lot and you can’t be crying or worrying about feelings around here because, unfortunately, in the world and in this game nobody cares about your feelings. You have to go out there and prove it. -via Andscape / January 5, 2024

The Celtics made the NBA Finals under then-first-year head coach Udoka in 2022 but he was suspended last season for what was deemed by the franchise as an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer. Udoka didn’t return and is now with the Houston Rockets. The Celtics lost in the second round of the NBA playoffs last year. How much did Udoka’s suspension and ultimate departure affect the Celtics players? Marcus Smart: It definitely put a dent in us. We were on a high of making it [to the Finals] and coming up short. We we’re expecting after a full [season] under him to do this again and really get into it. And we just didn’t get that chance. And when you get a taste of something like that, it’s hard not to want it. And then when you don’t get it anymore it’s like, dang, what happened? What could have happened? What could we do? And it definitely put a dent in us. -via Andscape / January 5, 2024

What kind of impact did Ja have on the team during his absence? Marcus Smart: He has done everything the league has asked, the team has asked and us as his teammates and coaches have asked. Even though he wasn’t playing with us, he’s been in our ears knowing the system, explaining to me Derrick and Biz [Bismack Biyombo] things that we don’t know. We are a new team and he knows he’s been here. He knows what Coach Taylor wants. And he is being that leader for these [returning] guys. They all grew up together as young guys and they look up to him and he understands that and knows that. And to be able to have his voice heard day in and day out, even though unfortunately he couldn’t be a part of the team the way he really wanted to, speak volumes. -via Andscape / January 5, 2024

Drew Hill: Darko Rajakovic on if it’s any easier to scout this game: “It’s never easy to scout a team that has Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr.” -via Twitter @DrewHill_DM / January 3, 2024

Drew Hill: Ja Morant downplayed it. His teammates didn’t. “When you get a matchup like that, that’s big for the NBA. Those two guys are going to be the faces and a big part of the NBA for a long time. For me, it’s pretty cool to watch.”dailymemphian.com/section/sports… -via Twitter @DrewHill_DM / January 3, 2024