Skip to main content

Boston Celtics: Marcus Smart's Wolverine-like ferocity leads Team USA to 69-53 win over Greece

Boston Celtics Wolverine-of-the-Hardwood, Marcus Smart, not only played ferocious defense against Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo in Team USA's 69-53 victory, at times he seemed to be guarding every opponent on the floor.



The first half ended with Team USA up by 13 points, 38-25. Jaylen Brown was high man for Team Shamrock with eight points and an aggressive seven rebounds. Kemba Walker notched five points and three assists. Marcus Smart scored three points but gave Giannis Antetokounpo fits with his defense. Giannis had a first-half high of nine points for Greece. He also matched Brown on rebounds with seven.








In a previous article a year ago, I tried to attach that Wolverine moniker to Marcus Smart by writing the following:

With the regular NBA season starting in several weeks, I once again present my case as to what truly separates Marcus Smart from from most other NBA players. It is his strength and ferocity - much like the Wolverine that can take on virtually every animal, regardless of size, that roams its territory and back it down.

Wolverine of the Hardwood. I like it! There is no one in the League quite like him.

Wolverine: A solitary animal, it has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself.- Wikipedia

Accolades to Tom Westerholm for his perfect use of the Wolverine nickname for Smart. In my original article a year ago, I included a video of a 50-pound wolverine fighting a 200-pound mountain lion. Today, the 6'4" Smart handled the 6'11" Greek Freak and his cohorts with his usual brand of ferocious defense. Marcus only scored three points but came away with the second-highest plus/minus for Team USA (+18). Kemba Walker finished with 15 points, four rebounds and six assists. Jaylen Brown had eight points and nine boards. Jayson Tatum, as expected, sat out with a sore ankle.

Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel and @_Celtics_Center



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on four occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts 2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 3.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. When evil and cleverness reside in the same mind, the stage is often set for true horror. Such was the case with triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante . As a 16-year old , he quickly transitioned from: Minor thefts and breaking into homes To: Taunting and threatening a father and his two daughters as an unseen

Rules of survival: When search-and-rescue turns into body recovery

 How the Hell did this happen? Two days after 19-year-old Emily Sotelo was supposedly dropped off in Franconia Notch (NH) at roughly 5:00 AM ET, Sunday, November 20, 2022 by her mother, to hike several mountains alone, the search continues for the young lady. Photo by Linda Lane The information from news agencies indicated that Emily started hiking the trails while it was still dark. She was supposedly wearing only sneakers, a coat and workout pants. I can persona;ly attest that the weather in the area was very cold with high wind speeds, and gaining elevation on the trails would only add to the horrendous conditions. Ms. Sotelo was reportedly a seasoned hiker, but had little or no experience hiking in winter. At the peaks, temperatures on that Sunday dropped to zero degrees with a wind chill of minus-30 degrees. It is beyond my comprehension to imagine a hiker-of-experience tackling that kind of travel - in extreme weather - with only basic clothes and few (or no) supplies. I have hik

Nik Stauskas adds "shooting with size" voiced by Brad Stevens

 As a 6'6" shooting guard, 28-year-old Nik Stauskas adds that shooting with size sorely needed by the Boston Celtics. Drafted 8th-overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2014, Stauskas has bounced around to various teams since then. Nik Stauskas' deal with the Boston Celtics includes non-guaranteed salary for the second season in 2022-23, a source tells @celticsblog . — Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 4, 2022 Nik has never averaged more than 9.5 points per game in the NBA, but Boston is most likely counting on his production for Grand Rapids in the G League as the incentive to sign him. In 17 games thus far, he has averaged 24.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 4.8 APG - while shooting 50% on field goals and 45% on treys. Nik Stauskas is signing a two-year deal with the Boston Celtics, his agents Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman of @PrioritySports tell ESPN. Stauskas had an historic week, scoring 100 points on 57 and 43 point performances in back-to-back games for Grand Rapids. — Adrian Wo