<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-marcus-smart-reveals-zach-edey-unlock-full-potential-defense');   ga('set', 'title', 'Marcus Smart reveals how Zach Edey can unlock full potential of Grizzlies’ defense');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Grizzlies-news-Marcus-Smart-reveals-how-Zach-Edey-can-unlock-full-potential-of-Memphis-defense.jpg"></figure><h1>Marcus Smart reveals how Zach Edey can unlock full potential of Grizzlies’ defense</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-09T18:18:04-07:00">October 9th, 6:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-09T18:18:04-07:00">October 9th, 6:18pm</time><address><a>Chris Dodson</a>Chris Dodson is a New Orleans Pelicans beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He has covered Louisiana high school and college basketball in spurts for over a decade. A basketball lifer from the bayou, his gumbo-stirring form matches his elbow jumper celebrations. Fast enough for varsity hoops, tall enough for a soccer scholarship. He has words and will travel, just not on the court.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-memphis-not-going-vanilla-preseason-opener-mavericks">Memphis Grizzlies are going all-out</a> this preseason to shake off Ja Morant’s rust and aid in Zach Edey’s rookie adjustments. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving-championship-marcus-smart">Marcus Smart is already talking championship</a>, among other things. The former NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2021-22) also revealed how Zach Edey can unlock the full potential of the Grizzlies’ defense.</p><p>Specifically, Smart recently explained how having Edey act as the defensive anchor this season will give the Grizzlies a boost. Of course, one attribute in particular <a href="https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/news-it-s-going-deadly-marcus-smart-talks-ja-morant-zach-edey-pick-and-roll-potential-grizzlies-defensive-ceiling-exclusive" rel="noopener">could not be ignored</a>, per Sportskeeda’s Grant Afseth.</p><p>“Huge, man. (Edey) is going to be huge for us,” Smart stated. “He allows us to do a lot of different things on the defensive end. He lets me and Jaren really give everything we’ve got. Being former Defensive Players of the Year, it’s great to have that rim protection behind us. Being 7-foot-4 helps with that.”</p><p>Edey is also more than just his height according to Smart.</p><p>“He moves very well,” explained Smart. “His IQ is very high and he’s only continuing to get better.”</p><h2><b>Grizzlies, Zach Edey agree with DPOY’s scouting report</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Zach-Edey-defends-the-rim.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Grizzlies took a chance on one of the most talked about NBA Draft curiosities of the past decade. They saw potential Purdue alum Zach Edey already knew was in the toolbox. Smart is seeing it now in practice. The big man can move but people were not paying attention to the right things, as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-zach-edey-promises-surprises-critics-who-didnt-watch-purdue">Edey told ClutchPoints during Grizzlies Media Day.</a></p><p>“Most of my journey has been pretty well reported,” Edey shared. “I think that a lot of people got caught up in me being 7-foot-4, 300 pounds and just took that at face value. A lot of people didn’t really watch me play at Purdue. They didn’t watch me move around and do certain things at Purdue. It is what it is but yeah, there are a lot of things I can do that people don’t know about.”</p><p>Fans will get to see Edey play with the freedom to make inconsequential mistakes four more times before the regular season begins. Home games against the Charlotte Hornets (Oct. 10) and the Miami Heat (Oct. 18) sandwich road trips to Chicago (Oct. 12) and Indiana (Oct. 14).</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Marcus Smart reveals how Zach Edey can unlock full potential of Grizzlies’ defense

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-marcus-smart-scary-warning-ja-morant-zach-edey-duo');   ga('set', 'title', 'Marcus Smart sends scary warning about Ja Morant-Zach Edey duo');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Grizzlies-news-Marcus-Smart-sends-scary-warning-about-Zach-Edey-Ja-Morant-duo.jpg"></figure><h1>Marcus Smart sends scary warning about Ja Morant-Zach Edey duo</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-09T18:16:07-07:00">October 9th, 6:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-09T18:16:07-07:00">October 9th, 6:16pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Memphis Grizzlies plan to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-ja-morant-optimistic-ankle-injury-update-after-scare">be cautious with Ja Morant following an injury scare</a>. The superstar point guard suffered an ankle injury during the team’s preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks, and they need him at full strength. The Grizzlies could have something scary brewing with the Ja Morant and Zach Edey two-man game, at least teammate Marcus Smart thinks so.</p><p>Marcus Smart recently spoke about how the addition of Edey <a href="https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/news-it-s-going-deadly-marcus-smart-talks-ja-morant-zach-edey-pick-and-roll-potential-grizzlies-defensive-ceiling-exclusive" rel="noopener">will impact the team</a> on the court this upcoming season, as per Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda.</p><p>“Oh it’s going to be deadly, man. It’s just going to open up things even more for us, especially for Ja. We all know what Ja can do with a little bit of space, so just image what he can do with a lot of space cleared out by a big like Zach.”</p><p>Zach Edey gives the Grizzlies a legit center and size in the frontcourt. The team selected Edey with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft amid concerns about how his game might translate to the NBA. But the former Purdue big man played well in summer league.</p><p>And he played well in the Grizzlies preseason opener against the Mavericks. He finished with six points, seven rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot.</p><h2><b>Ja Morant’s return to the Grizzlies<br></b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Morant-during-preseason.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Ja Morant was suspended for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 season, but when he made his season debut he showed no signs of being rusty or out of shape. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, Morant suffered a shoulder injury that ended up sidelining him for the majority of the year.</p><p>But Morant is back and set to make his return to the Grizzlies lineup. With him in the lineup, the Grizzlies’ ceiling is raised significantly. Last year they did not make the playoffs amid several key injuries. But if fully healthy, this team looks like they could be a factor in the Western Conference standings.</p><p>Morant had been coming off consecutive All-Star seasons before last year. He was only able to appear in nine games for the Grizzlies during 2023-24. He averaged 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 8.1 assists with splits of 47.1 percent shooting from the field, 27.5 percent shooting from the three-point line and 81.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>One of the next steps in his continued elevation is getting his three-point percentage up to a slightly higher efficiency. He’s a career 31.8 percent shooter from three and the highest percentage he’s ever shot is 34.4 percent. He can shoot the three-ball consistently though.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Marcus Smart sends scary warning about Ja Morant-Zach Edey duo

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving-championship-marcus-smart');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving get championship truth bombs from Marcus Smart');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Luka-Doncic-Kyrie-Irving-get-truth-bombs-from-Marcus-Smart.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving get championship truth bombs from Marcus Smart</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-09T06:59:12-07:00">October 9th, 6:59am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-09T07:04:28-07:00">October 9th, 7:04am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Exclusive</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>DALLAS — The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-dallas-nba-preseason-jaden-hardy-jazian-gortman">Dallas Mavericks were defeated 121-116 in their preseason opener</a> against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. The morning before the game, however, Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart took some time to speak with ClutchPoints after Memphis’ shoot-around. Smart addressed a number of topics, including Kyrie Irving’s fit with the Mavs and Luka Doncic’s career progression.</p><h2><b>Marcus Smart explains “advantage” of having Kyrie Irving on the Mavericks roster</b></h2><p>Smart, who has played in the NBA since the 2014-15 season, is quite familiar with Irving’s game. He has seen the guard play with different teams and was impressed by Kyrie’s first full season with the Mavs.</p><p>“I thought it was great,” Smart told ClutchPoints of Irving’s first full season in Dallas. “I mean… Coming to Dallas nobody was expecting them to do what they did in the fashion that they did it. That shows a lot. Kai (Irving) came in and was a part of that process to get them there. Obviously you got Luka and those other guys, but to have Kai there is just a big advantage for them to help them get over that hump and get them to the next level. And that’s what they did… They didn’t win (a championship), but they got there. They figured out what it takes.”</p><p>Smart’s comments will increase the confidence of Mavericks fans. He clearly took notice of Dallas’ postseason run and believes the Mavs “figured out what it takes” to get the job done in the postseason.</p><h2><b>Luka Doncic’s career progression gets Marcus Smart admission</b></h2><p>Doncic has emerged as one of the best players in the NBA. He is a consistent MVP candidate. Although he has yet to win the award, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2024-25-nba-media-poll-mvp-luka-doncic-shai-gilgeous-alexander-dethrone-nikola-jokic">Doncic is the favorite heading into the 2024-25 season</a>.</p><p>Smart said Doncic has “demanded” the league. The Grizzlies guard also explained how he played against a “16-year-old” Doncic, so Smart has truly seen Luka’s progression over the years.</p><p>“Oh man, just the way he’s came and demanded the league,” Smart said. “I actually had the opportunity to play against Luka when he was 16. We went to Milan and he was on the Milan team. You know, at the time, you see him, he’s a 16-year-old kid. Doesn’t look how he looks now. You see him now, it’s like that’s not the same 16-year-old kid. But Luka is a great player, we all know that. We all know what he has been doing and can do in this league. His progression… He’s taking even bigger steps.”</p><h2><b>Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving looking to lead Mavericks to championship</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Luka-Doncic-and-Kyrie-Irving-celebrate-during-2024-NBA-playoffs.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Doncic and Irving are one of the best duos in the entire NBA. They have a legitimate argument to be referred to as the best duo in the entire league. Winning a championship would go a long way toward earning that title, though.</p><p>The Mavericks have high expectations for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign. Dallas added Klay Thompson and upgraded the roster depth around the stars. The Mavs are fresh off an NBA Finals appearance despite finishing as the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference last year.</p><p>Dallas should be able to take a step forward and finish with a better record in the regular season. As a result, the Mavs could end up being a top three seed in the West, which would obviously benefit a potential NBA Finals run.</p><p>At the moment, Doncic, Irving and the Mavericks are focused on the NBA preseason and preparing for the new season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving get championship truth bombs from Marcus Smart

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-marcus-smart-trade-rumors-scotty-pippen-jr-backup-pg');   ga('set', 'title', 'Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart trade rumors suggest Scotty Pippen Jr. seizing backup PG role');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Grizzlies-Marcus-Smart-trade-rumors-suggest-Scotty-Pippen-Jr.-seizing-backup-PG-role.jpg"></figure><h1>Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart trade rumors suggest Scotty Pippen Jr. seizing backup PG role</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-05T12:50:47-07:00">October 5th, 12:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-05T12:52:38-07:00">October 5th, 12:52pm</time><address><a>Chris Dodson</a>Chris Dodson is a New Orleans Pelicans beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He has covered Louisiana high school and college basketball in spurts for over a decade. A basketball lifer from the bayou, his gumbo-stirring form matches his elbow jumper celebrations. Fast enough for varsity hoops, tall enough for a soccer scholarship. He has words and will travel, just not on the court.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-derrick-rose-waived-before-training-camp">Memphis Grizzlies releasing Derrick Rose</a> led to a shocking retirement going by everyone’s reactions at Media Day. Players, staff, and executives who grew up as fans learned of the news on social media without warning. The front office and coaches had already flipped to filling those backup point guard shoes, though, mainly with some in-house talent. Marcus Smart was asked about moving over to the spot during Grizzlies Media Day while Scotty Pippen Jr. was fielding questions about winning the job outright.</p><p>Well, there are plenty of storylines coming out of Grizzlies training camp. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-zach-edey-promises-surprises-critics-who-didnt-watch-purdue">Grizzlies’ gamble on Zach Edey’s footwork</a> has been front and center. Some <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-knicks-interested-in-marcus-smart-trade">new Marcus Smart trade rumors</a> suggest Pippen Jr. is seizing the backup point guard role.</p><p>Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman suggested that has always <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daNazOG_YWc" rel="noopener">been part of the plan</a> during Media Day.</p><p>“We’ll see where things shake out, in terms of who’s in what role as we kick the season off,” explained Kleiman. “But Scotty is someone who we have real confidence in playing a role.”</p><p>Pippen Jr. is trying to pick brains but also <a href="https://x.com/DoingItDodson/status/1842638246548746687" rel="noopener">blaze his own path</a> as a pro, as told to ClutchPoints.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Scotty Pippen Jr. impressive during Grizzlies training camp. </p><p>Marcus Smart back in the trade rumors. </p><p>Asked Pippen Jr. about filling Derrick Rose’s shoes this season.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Grizzlies?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Grizzlies</a> <a href="https://t.co/vFsrGQmEyX">pic.twitter.com/vFsrGQmEyX</a></p><p>— Dodson, Chris Dodson (@DoingItDodson) <a href="https://twitter.com/DoingItDodson/status/1842638246548746687?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Growing up I used to always go to Chicago Bulls games and was around Derrick as a kid,” Pippen Jr. continued. “I feel I’ve been seeing him since I was 10 years old so that was a surreal feeling to play with him on the roster last season. I definitely talked to him after I heard the news of his retirement. I wouldn’t say ‘filling his shoes’ or anything like that. I don’t really look at it that way.”</p><p>He clearly understood the pathway to NBA playing time coming out of Vanderbilt University. Pippen Jr. made 2k25 Las Vegas Summer League First-Team and was an MVP snub by some accounts. Putting up 21.5 points, 8.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.3 steals to get into the MVP conversation was just the next step in an upward development trajectory.</p><p>Pippen Jr. also told ClutchPoints it’s been <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vxdczkTe5I" rel="noopener">all grit and grind</a> this offseason with very little time for vacations.</p><p>“I appreciate you saying I got snubbed (for MVP) but I’ve been just been building on that,” Pippen Jr. laughed. “I think I had a good Summer League. Even leading up to that, just finishing off last season as well. The core of me, (GG Jackson), (Jake Laravia), we grinded out the whole summer being in Memphis. Following Summer League we’ve all been here as well. Just working on getting better and leading, working towards the season.”</p><p>The Grizzlies got good value from the two-way deal to wind down last season. Pippen Jr. took a couple of weeks to adjust, sure. He still posted a two-week, six-game stretch of 19.2 points, six assists, four rebounds, and almost three steals in 30 minutes per game. The 3.7 turnovers are a problem easily fixed by giving the ball back to Ja Morant for most of that time. Pippen Jr.’s future relies more on the 33.3% from beyond the arc in that six-game stretch being the floor and not the ceiling.</p><h2><b>Grizzlies getting Scotty Pippen Jr. situated for success</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Scotty-Pippen-Jr.-dishes-an-assist.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Pippen Jr. got into 21 games (16 starts) for an injury-ravaged Grizzlies group last season. The 23-year-old averaged 12.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.7 steals in just over 25 minutes per night while shooting 49.3% from the field and 41.7% from three-point range. That got Pippen Jr. and the Grizzlies brass thinking about a bigger role on a two-way contract.</p><p>“I’ve been talking with Zach (Kleiman) a lot, coach Taylor (Jenkins). They’ve been pretty transparent with me about steps of going forward,” Pippen Jr. shared. “There’s definitely a path for me to get that roster spot, so I’m just trying to go out there during training camp, just compete, and do whatever I can to get that spot.”</p><p>It sounds like a good preseason would seal the deal. If all goes well, Pippen Jr. could plan on checking into the game as the lead table setter for a Western Conference contender. That clarity would go a long way to helping Pippen Jr. feel like a bigger part of the Ja Morant-led team.</p><p>“I feel like previously in my last two years, I didn’t really feel like I was, you know, kind of a part of the team,” admitted Pippen Jr. “I feel like this year I have something to play for or something to be excited about. Whether it’s the roster spot or just playing for a team that believes in me and my teammates, trust me regardless I’m just happy to be here.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart trade rumors suggest Scotty Pippen Jr. seizing backup PG role

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-knicks-interested-in-marcus-smart-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks interested in Marcus Smart trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBA-rumors-Knicks-interested-in-Marcus-Smart-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks interested in Marcus Smart trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-04T19:37:25-07:00">October 4th, 7:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-05T14:54:02-07:00">October 5th, 2:54pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks, encouraged by the progress they’ve made as a franchise over the past two seasons thanks in large part to the emergence of Jalen Brunson as a legitimate MVP candidate, have decided to go all-in this offseason.</p><p>They traded away a boatload of draft capital to bring Mikal Bridges in, and then last week, they pulled off a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/76ers-news-paul-george-jokingly-blasts-terrible-karl-anthony-towns-knicks-trade">stunning blockbuster trade</a> for Karl-Anthony Towns. But the Knicks may not be done making moves quite yet.</p><p>With whatever trade assets they have left, the Knicks have reportedly had “internal discussions” about a potential trade for Memphis Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart, per Kris Pursiainen of Ballislife. The Knicks reportedly have had “rumored interest” in trading for Smart in the past but <a href="https://x.com/krispursiainen/status/1842375514981359665" rel="noopener">“no deal is imminent”</a>, according to Pursiainen.</p><p>Now, Smart should not cost too big of a price in a prospective trade, but it should still take at least a first-round pick to at least make the Grizzlies think about dealing away the veteran guard. However, at this point, it seems as though all the Knicks can offer in a potential trade are a paperclip and piece of twine.</p><p>The Knicks owe the Brooklyn Nets nearly all of their first-round picks until 2029, and the Nets also hold swap rights over their 2028 first-rounder.</p><p>All the Knicks can trade at the moment in terms of draft capital is a heavily protected Washington Wizards first-round pick as well as swap rights over their 2026 and 2030 first-round picks. Will a combination of those assets be enough to sway the Grizzlies?</p><p>And then there’s the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-how-new-yorks-creativity-with-mikal-bridges-trade-enabled-karl-anthony-towns-deal">matter of matching salaries</a> as well. As a team that is operating above the first luxury tax apron, the Knicks cannot receive more salary than they give out in any trade. Thus, matching Smart’s $20.2 million salary for this season will be a pain.</p><p>Combining Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa gets the Knicks to that number, but that may not be such an enticing proposition to them considering their lack of depth across multiple positions.</p><p>The Knicks will have to hope that they hit on some of their lower-end moves, such as bringing in Chuma Okeke and TJ Warren on training-camp deals before they entertain the idea of gutting the team’s depth even further.</p><h2><b>A potential Knicks trade for Marcus Smart may be a pipe dream</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Ja-Morant-celebrates-from-the-bench.jpg"></figure><p>In addition to all the reasons outlined above, it will be additionally difficult for the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-marcus-smart-breaks-silence-boston-winning-title-without-him">Knicks to trade for Marcus Smart</a> simply because the Grizzlies will be looking to contend for this upcoming season.</p><p>They brought Smart in last offseason to bolster their perimeter defense following the departure of Dillon Brooks, and Smart brings plenty of winning intangibles that simply did not get a chance to manifest due to the team’s massive injury problems.</p><p>Regardless, the 2024-25 season promises a new beginning for the Grizzlies. Smart is likely to start in their backcourt alongside Ja Morant with Desmond Bane sliding up to the three. The Grizzlies could then stagger the minutes of Morant and Smart to make sure that one of their top playmakers is on the court at all times.</p><p>For the Knicks, they have Miles McBride and Cameron Payne as guard depth anyway, so it’s not as if trading for Smart is an urgent order of business. McBride, in particular, established himself as a legitimate rotation piece for the team last season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Knicks interested in Marcus Smart trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-marcus-smart-delivers-savage-rebuttal-to-flopping-allegation');   ga('set', 'title', 'Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart delivers savage rebuttal to flopping allegation');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Marcus-Smart-delivers-savage-rebuttal-to-flopping-allegation.jpg"></figure><h1>Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart delivers savage rebuttal to flopping allegation</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-03T19:57:44-07:00">July 3rd, 7:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-03T20:01:23-07:00">July 3rd, 8:01pm</time><address><a>Nick Meyer</a>Nick Meyer is a sports writer for ClutchPoints based in the Metro Detroit area. He has covered everything from Major League Baseball to the NFL, UFC, and College Football.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Marcus Smart is now a member of the Memphis Grizzlies but still one of the smartest players on the court wherever he plays. Smart spoke recently on a podcast during which he responded to complaints that he’s a flopper with an honest retort.</p><p>The retort came amid an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-draymond-green-almost-signed-rival-2023">honest Draymond Green admission</a> relating to the Memphis Grizzlies. Meanwhile, Grizzlies draftee Zach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-grizzlies-zach-edey-final-decision-olympics">Edey made a decision</a> on whether or not to join the Grizzlies’ Olympic team.</p><p>Smart’s comments are not surprising considering the level of honesty and rawness he is known for possessing.</p><h2><b>Smart Gets Real On Flopping </b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Smart-on-the-sidelines.jpg"><figcaption>© Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Smart admitted to being a flopper on the “Run Your Race” podcast, during which he gave a colorful demonstration to the audience on X.</p><p>“They (say), you a flopper! You a flopper! I’m like, ‘Listen, you just mad because I flop better than your favorite player. That’s it.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“They [say], ‘You a flopper! You a flopper!’ I’m like, ‘Listen, you just mad because I flop better than your favorite player.’ That’s it.”</p><p>Marcus Smart on his flopping antics 🤣</p><p>(via “Run Your Race”, <a href="https://twitter.com/TidalLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TidalLeague</a>) <a href="https://t.co/AwVcVh40Wa">pic.twitter.com/AwVcVh40Wa</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1808668060926071092?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Grizzlies’ Smart On The Comeback Trail </b></h2><p>Smart played in just 20 games for Memphis last season while displaying the kind of all-around ability and dependability that made him one of the better all-around shooting guard/small forward position players in the NBA for quite some time.</p><p>Smart averaged 14.5 points per game along with 4.3 assists and 2.3 rebounds, suggesting he’s still a top tier supporting player. Smart will have plenty of chances to lead Memphis back to the promised land of the NBA Playoffs in season number two if he ends up being healthy this time around as expected.</p><p>With Zach Edey on board and Ja Morant expected to be at full strength, the Grizzlies could be one of the biggest movers and shakers in the NBA next season by the time the dust settles.</p><p>It’s not known whether the Grizzlies will take a chance at starting Edey, who has question marks surrounding his foot speed on the perimeter of an NBA defense. That being said, a combination of Smart and Jaren Jackson, Jr. at the power forward position, and Edey at center could be a nightmare for opposing offenses considering the defensive talents of each guy.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart delivers savage rebuttal to flopping allegation

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-marcus-smart-confronting-kyrie-irving-celtics-days');   ga('set', 'title', 'Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart gets real on confronting Kyrie Irving during Celtics days');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Marcus-Smart-gets-real-on-confronting-Kyrie-Irving-during-Celtics-days.jpg"></figure><h1>Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart gets real on confronting Kyrie Irving during Celtics days</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-26T08:04:55-07:00">June 26th, 8:04am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-26T08:04:55-07:00">June 26th, 8:04am</time><address><a>Preston Byers</a>Preston Byers is an experienced writer and journalist who currently serves as an associate editor for ClutchPoints and as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, where he covers sports in the Mahoning Valley. Previously, Preston worked as an associate editor for Dot Esports and a site expert for FanSided's Union and Blue.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-kyrie-irving-admission-dallas-nba-finals-celtics">Kyrie Irving is a polarizing</a> player. Despite being one of the most talented players in NBA history in some aspects, Irving developed a poor reputation between his departures from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and Brooklyn Nets. But one of his former <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-marcus-smart-breaks-silence-boston-winning-title-without-him">Celtics teammates, Marcus Smart</a>, explained that Irving is a “great teammate” while admitting he and Irving butted heads in Boston.</p><p>While on the ‘Run Your Race’ podcast, Smart, who was traded by the Celtics to the Memphis Grizzlies last offseason, was asked by Theo Pinson what he thought of Irving as a teammate <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnWy1Gb8HRE&amp;t=2707s">when they played together</a> on the Celtics for two seasons between 2017 and 2019.</p><p>“Great teammate,” Smart said. “And I think Kyrie gets a little bit more than his fair share [of criticism] because of just who he is. He’s not going to back down from anybody — on the court or off the court. No matter what topic you want to talk to him about, don’t matter what game, what sport, he’s not going to back down. And that gives him a lot more shade than normal, but as a teammate, Kyrie’s great.”</p><p>Smart said, however, that things were not always smooth between himself and Irving.</p><p>“Me and Kyrie, we didn’t see eye to eye at first,” Smart said. “It was tough, he’s trying to figure out on a new team, we was trying to figure out how to play with him. I remember, I sat him down one time and was like, ‘Listen bruh, I just want to see how you’re doing. I know you’ve got a lot going on too. People probably don’t ask you as much as how you’re doing.’ I just told him, I said, for me to be the best defender that I’m going to be, bruh, I’m going to guard you and it’s going to be every day. I don’t care, we’re going to fight, we’re going to argue, but at the end of the day, it’s going to make me better and at the end of the day, I know it’s all love. When I step on that court, that’s what it is. Vice versa, I know for you being the player that you are offensively, you need somebody like me on that other side, that’s going to push you…”</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><h2><b>Kyrie Irving’s disappointing stint with Celtics</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Smart-and-Irving.jpg"></figure><p>In 2017, a year after making one of the most important shots in NBA history in the Finals, Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Irving eventually ended up with the Celtics, a team trying to get over the hump after a mini-rebuild a few years earlier.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-espn-reporter-blasts-kyrie-irving-for-handling-return-to-boston">Irving’s time with the Celtics</a> was less than stellar, though, as the team underperformed — with Irving sidelined due to injury, Boston lost to Cleveland in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2018 before being eliminated in the second round the next year by the Milwaukee Bucks. While Irving said before the 2018-19 season that he would stay with the Celtics “if you guys will have me,” Irving left Boston to sign with the Brooklyn Nets during the 2019 offseason.</p><p>The exit, coupled with the disappointing results in his two years in Boston, led to Irving being vilified by Celtics fans, who Irving, then a part of the Brooklyn Nets, said in 2021 exhibited “subtle racism.” Marcus Smart confirmed shortly thereafter that he had heart “a couple” of racial slurs being yelled by fans at the TD Garden in Boston.</p><p>Irving and the Celtics met in their highest-profile clash since his departure in this year’s NBA Finals, of which Boston got the better. After having one of his best postseasons since leaving Cleveland, Irving struggled in the Finals as the Celtics rolled to a 4-1 series victory and their record 18th NBA Championship.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart gets real on confronting Kyrie Irving during Celtics days

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-marcus-smart-breaks-silence-boston-winning-title-without-him');   ga('set', 'title', 'Marcus Smart breaks silence on Celtics winning title without him');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Marcus-Smart-breaks-silence-on-Boston-winning-title-without-him.jpg"></figure><h1>Marcus Smart breaks silence on Celtics winning title without him</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-25T10:59:29-07:00">June 25th, 10:59am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-25T10:59:29-07:00">June 25th, 10:59am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Last week, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics finally broke through to hoist their first Larry O’Brien trophy in the last 16 seasons with a huge win in Game 5 over Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, winning the Finals at home in front of the TD Garden crowd on the 16 year anniversary of doing the same thing in 2008 vs the Los Angeles Lakers.<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-boston-forward-makes-significant-contract-decision-nba-title-win"> Tatum had far</a> and away his best performance of the series in Game 5 but it wasn’t quite enough to win the Finals MVP award, which instead went <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/red-sox-news-bostos-win-celtics-attendance-snaps-91-game-skid">to Celtics teammate</a> Jaylen Brown, who was much more consistent throughout the series.</p><p>It was a long time coming for this Celtics team, <a href="https://x.com/tidalleague/status/1805617585033027833?s=46&amp;t=4r6zr4OnPB62QXf6qjobPw" rel="noopener">which has made</a> the playoffs every year since the 2014-15 season and had been to six Eastern Conference Finals series since 2017 but had yet to raise banner 18 until this season. Of course, one of the most integral members of the Celtics over the last decade has been point guard Marcus Smart, who was drafted in 2013 and was a key member on every deep playoff run the team had until they traded him last summer in order to bring in Kristaps Porzingis.</p><p>Now that the Celtics won a championship immediately after moving on from Smart, it’s fair to wonder how the now Memphis Grizzlies guard feels about that, but Smart recently took the high road when asked about it.</p><p>“Shout out to Jaylen (Brown), Jayson (Tatum) and the Boston Celtics on the championship…I’m proud of them…I know everyone is expecting me to be salty,” said Smart, via Tidal League on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.</p><p>The bitter irony of the situation is that Porzingis, the play whom Smart was moved to bring in, hardly played at all during the Celtics’ dominant championship run, meaning the team probably could have won without him and with Smart back in the fray.</p><h2><b>Can the Celtics do it again?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Jaylen-Brown-celebrates.jpg"><figcaption>Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Celtics are expected to bring back almost their entire group from this past season heading into 2024-25, where they will be the clear favorites to repeat as NBA champions. Boston profiles as essentially the perfect team for the way the game is played in the modern NBA, as Brad Stevens has compiled a roster filled with size, defensive versatility, and perimeter shooting. In fact, every player in the Celtics’ starting lineup, as well as most of their bench pieces, check every one of those boxes, something that can’t be said about any other team in the league.</p><p>It should be noted that no team in the past five years has made it past the second round the year after winning the championship, a trend that continued this year with the Denver Nuggets losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, with the rest of the Eastern Conference looking as weak as it currently does, it would appear that the only thing stopping the Celtics from at least reaching the Finals again next year would be injuries, and it would probably take more than one of them.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Marcus Smart breaks silence on Celtics winning title without him

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-rockets-grizzlies-marcus-smart-trade-gains-buzz');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Rockets-Grizzlies Marcus Smart trade gains buzz');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Rockets-Grizzlies-Marcus-Smart-trade-gains-buzz.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Rockets-Grizzlies Marcus Smart trade gains buzz</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-25T06:53:26-07:00">June 25th, 6:53am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-25T08:59:59-07:00">June 25th, 8:59am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It is almost guaranteed that the Houston Rockets become one of the teams with the most eventful 2024 offseason. Sensing that their rebuilding project is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-rockets-still-holding-out-hope-mikal-bridges-trade">about to take off</a>, they are looking to add the missing pieces that will help establish them as a legitimate playoff team in the Western Conference.</p><p>And it seems as though the stars are aligning for the Rockets with regards to a potential trade partner in the Memphis Grizzlies that will help both teams achieve their roster-building goals.</p><p>As of late, there has been plenty of smoke regarding a potential trade-up from the Grizzlies with the goal of drafting Donovan Clingan. At present, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-grizzlies-most-frequent-team-connected-to-donovan-clingan-trade-up">Grizzlies have the ninth-overall pick</a>, but it’s unlikely that Clingan is on the board by the time they make the selection.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Rockets have been linked to a few potential trades involving the third-overall pick, which includes a potential scenario in which they trade down.</p><p>Thus, the Rockets and Grizzlies could perhaps reach an agreement with Marcus Smart being used as the trade sweetener to allow Memphis to <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/this-week-in-basketball-can-only-9df?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=145951059&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">move up six spots</a> in the 2024 NBA Draft, as per NBA insider Marc Stein.</p><p>Stein also noted that the possibility of a Smart plus the ninth-overall pick for the third-overall selection trade is “being mentioned with increasing regularity by various league insiders.”</p><p>The Grizzlies made a huge move for Smart just last year, so it’s not quite clear why they would dangle him in trade talks to move up in a relatively weak draft without even looking at how their team performs at full strength.</p><p>For the Rockets, adding a former Defensive Player of the Year who’s on an affordable contract could be a huge get. Fans of both teams should stay tuned as to how they will be maneuvering come draft night.</p><h2>Rockets to shoot for the stars still?</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Rockets-center-Alperen-Sengun-28-and-guard-Jalen-Green-4-come-out-the-locker-room.jpg"></figure><p>The Rockets look like a team that’s ready to go big-game hunting, and there is a clear position of need for the team if they were to take the next step to playoff contention. Marcus Smart is a helpful piece who has been part of plenty of winning teams in the past, but he is not exactly moving the needle for a Rockets team that finished 41-41 last season.</p><p>Thus, even with their interest in Smart becoming more and more apparent, the Rockets should still be a team to keep an eye out for in trade talks for star players on the wing. Stein even wrote that the Rockets, “rest assured,” will be in hot pursuit of Paul George, Brandon Ingram or Jimmy Butler in the coming weeks.</p><p>Of course, some of those trade candidates are more plausible than others. George, in particular, may not be the player the Rockets organization deems as the missing piece.</p><p>The Los Angeles Clippers forward may be available for trade, especially with his player option deadline coming fast, but the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-rockets-targeting-paul-george-but-theres-a-catch">Rockets are reportedly “unlikely”</a> to acquire the 34-year-old two-way wing, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.</p><p>Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler has been the face of the Heat franchise since he joined the team in 2019. He has been the leader of teams that have defied expectations and made deep playoff runs.</p><p>Butler is only under contract for one more guaranteed season, as he has a player option for the 2025-26 campaign. However, Butler, like George, is already 34 years of age. He may not be the best fit for the Rockets’ timeline. The Heat are expected to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/heat-news-jimmy-butler-contract-extension-trade-rumors-key-pat-riley-update">keep Butler out of trade talks</a> anyways.</p><p>But the Rockets’ M.O. is clear; they are hell-bent on adding a defensive-minded wing who fits the current team’s identity like hand and glove.</p><h2><b>Will the Grizzlies play the waiting game?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Lakers-LeBron-James-against-Grizzlies-Ja-Morant.jpg"></figure><p>It’s understandable why the Grizzlies would want to secure the services of a potential long-term partner for Jaren Jackson Jr. in the frontcourt.</p><p>The team’s center position has been a revolving door ever since Steven Adams went down with injury in 2023, and the Grizzlies have had much success with a strong interior presence who can clean up on the glass and set hard screens, providing a solid complement to Jackson’s more finesse style of offense.</p><p>But the Grizzlies gave up Tyus Jones and two first-round picks for Marcus Smart not even a year to this day. Smart is one of the best point-of-attack defenders in the league, and he’ll be making an <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/15358/marcus-smart" rel="noopener">average of $20.9 million</a> for the next two seasons — a very acceptable contract.</p><p>The Grizzlies didn’t have much of a fair shot at contending last season anyway what with all the injury woes they experienced.</p><p>Smart has proven his worth in the past to contending teams. Given the Grizzlies’ contending aspirations, it’ll be interesting to see if they still hold Smart in as high of a regard as they did last year when they gave up all those assets to acquire him or if they believe that using him to trade up for Donovan Clingan is the move.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Rockets-Grizzlies Marcus Smart trade gains buzz

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-jaylen-brown-drops-truth-bomb-filling-marcus-smart-void');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Jaylen Brown drops truth bomb after filling Marcus Smart ‘void’ after trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Jaylen-Brown-drops-truth-bomb-after-filling-Marcus-Smart-void-after-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Celtics’ Jaylen Brown drops truth bomb after filling Marcus Smart ‘void’ after trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-28T08:54:11-07:00">May 28th, 8:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-28T08:54:11-07:00">May 28th, 8:54am</time><address><a>Daniel Donabedian</a>Daniel Donabedian is a beat reporter for ClutchPoints covering the Boston Celtics. He's also covered Villanova men's basketball and Big East basketball, building a strong reputation in the northeast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>This past offseason, the Boston Celtics traded away their longest-tenured <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-brad-stevens-brutally-honest-marcus-smart-kristaps-porzingis">player in Marcus Smart</a>. The 2022 Defensive Player of the Year spent nine seasons in Boston and became the C’s vocal leader. In his absence, the next longest-tenured player, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-jaylen-brown-nsfw-reaction-to-shocking-east-finals-mvp-win">star guard Jaylen Brown</a>, has stepped up.</p><p>And no moment encapsulated Brown’s growth better than when he raised the Larry Bird Trophy next to his smiling teammates following <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-takeaways-nba-finals-ticket-punching-game-4-win-pacers">a 105-102 win</a> over the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">God is the greatest 🏆 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/4more?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#4more</a> <a href="https://t.co/LxAWpOYKKC">pic.twitter.com/LxAWpOYKKC</a></p><p>— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCHWPO/status/1795313467634987118?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Those around Brown know how hard he’s worked to lead the Celtics. Since Smart’s trade to the Memphis Grizzlies, Brown ensured that a lack of leadership and guidance was never felt in the Celtics’ locker room.</p><p>“Yeah, we had some guys leave, so I wanted to make sure that void was filled,” Brown said in his postgame remarks. “Marcus Smart, one of my brothers that got traded, he was one of the voices of our team. And when he wasn’t here, I wanted to make sure I stepped in. Make sure that everybody felt me and everybody knew what the standard was. And we didn’t skip no steps all season. I think we played the right way every single game, I’ve held everybody accountable, and this is the byproduct.”</p><p>After a 29-point performance, Brown was named the Eastern Conference Finals MVP on Monday night. He also had six rebounds, three steals, and numerous winning plays down the stretch.</p><h2><b>How Jaylen Brown’s big day helped send Celtics to NBA Finals</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Jaylen-Brown-4.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>With 2:40 left in the fourth quarter, the three-time All-Star made a smooth move to get by Pacers forward Obi Toppin. That resulted in an easy floater that tied the game, 102-102.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jaylen Brown ties it up with a BEAUTIFUL step-through 🔥</p><p> <a href="https://t.co/3W6J6vWvzt">pic.twitter.com/3W6J6vWvzt</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1795282459732681059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Game 4 was the third instance in this series in which the Celtics trailed in the fourth quarter. This didn’t daunt Brown though, who followed his game-tying bucket with a steal and then a massive block on Indiana point guard Andrew Nembhard with 1:05 left in the final frame.</p><p>“Just a big-time play,” Celtics center Al Horford said when asked about Brown’s block. “He’s impacting the game not only on offense, but on defense. And he’s doing it at a very high level. We ask a lot of him. I mean, tonight he started out guarding Nembhard and then he switched up to [Pascal] Siakam and then he was probably on [Myles] Turner—he was on different people just all over. And that versatility is what makes us so tough as a team, I think, because we have multiple guys that can do that. And Jaylen does it at a very high level.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jaylen Brown with two huge plays. First the block, then the dime.</p><p>And what a shot by Derrick White. It's actually a game-winning three: <a href="https://t.co/WJR6MCAaWx">pic.twitter.com/WJR6MCAaWx</a></p><p>— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) <a href="https://twitter.com/Timi_093/status/1795283981300289860?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>To top it all off, Brown earned the game-winning assist with less than a minute to go in regulation.</p><p>After mishandling the ball and nearly losing possession, Brown recovered and found guard Derrick White open in the corner. White then cashed the 3-pointer, giving the Celtics a 105-102 lead with 45 seconds left.</p><p>“He’s a guy that—you can’t shake him,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Brown. “He has great—just a short-term memory. If he misses a shot, [it] never affects the next one. And so I just loved his poise, his ability to just attack. If it’s one thing about him, and, like Derrick said, just making plays. Like, not being defined by scoring. It was a hell of a pass. And I had full faith he was going to make that read. It was a great read.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">DERRICK WHITE FOR THE LEAD 😱<a href="https://t.co/w8lol3uEH2">pic.twitter.com/w8lol3uEH2</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1795287000318439775?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Mazzulla, who’s now the youngest coach to make the NBA Finals since Bill Russell, loves Brown off the court as much as he does on it.</p><p>“From the first day I’ve been here, he’s just, he’s become more, just like open-minded towards just growing as a basketball player,” Mazzulla stated. “You see what he’s done in the community. And, I just really, really value the time that I get to spend with him on and off the court. He just keeps getting better and better. I’m happy for him.”</p><p>Celtics star Jayson Tatum shared a similar sentiment during his postgame press conference:</p><p>“It was special,” he said when asked for his opinion on Brown being named series MVP. “Big-time to be rewarded for how you played. That’s a special accomplishment for him and for everybody.”</p><p>Brown and company will have to shine again if they want to prevail in the 2024 NBA Finals, as this season won’t mean nearly as much without Banner No. 18.</p><p>“Time has gone by, experience has been gained, and I think we are ready to put our best foot forward,” Brown said ahead of the championship round.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Jaylen Brown drops truth bomb after filling Marcus Smart ‘void’ after trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-marcus-smart-injured-out-gets-ejected-going-off-refs-kings');   ga('set', 'title', 'Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart, injured and out, gets ejected after going off at refs vs. Kings');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Marcus-Smart-injured-and-out-gets-ejected-after-going-off-at-refs-vs.-Kings.jpg"></figure><h1>Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart, injured and out, gets ejected after going off at refs vs. Kings</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-03-19T06:19:03-07:00">March 19th, 6:19am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-03-19T06:19:03-07:00">March 19th, 6:19am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Memphis Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-zach-kleiman-hints-extended-injury-absences-desmond-bane-marcus-smart" rel="noopener">has not seen action</a> on the court since the second week of January, but he still goes with the team to watch games from the bench.</p><p>But despite not being in uniform Monday night when Memphis played against the Sacramento Kings on the road, Smart got ejected from the contest when he argued with a ref just a little bit more passionate than he probably should have in overtime.</p><h2><b>Marcus Smart ejected from Grizzlies-Kings game</b></h2><p>That was surely one of the strangest ejections at least in recent memory. Smart seemed to be angered by a non-call on a possible foul on the Kings after Grizzlies forward Desmond Bane tried to attack the basket. His frustrations seemingly doubled when the Kings later scored on a Domantas Sabonis dunk that stretched Sacramento’s lead to four points.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Marcus Smart ejected. 😳</p><p> <a href="https://t.co/krERaCkCUD">pic.twitter.com/krERaCkCUD</a></p><p>— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1769948909575823864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Smart would love to help the Grizzlies on the court but a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-memphis-releases-marcus-smart-desmond-bane-injury-updates" rel="noopener">torn thumb tendon</a> has prevented him from playing over the last couple of months. There is also not much of a need for the Grizzlies to rush him back, as Memphis is 13 games out of the last Play-in Tournament spot in the Western Conference standings after their 121-111 loss to the Kings and with only exactly 13 games left to play on their regular-season schedule.</p><p>It has been a difficult season for Smart and the Grizzlies. Smart was traded by the Boston Celtics to the Grizzlies via a three-team trade last summer that also involved the Washington Wizards. He was expected to use his experience and prowess on defense to help Memphis, especially during the first 25 games of the season when Ja Morant was serving his lengthy suspension.</p><p>Although Smart’s first season with the Grizzlies has been problematic both from an individual and team perspective, he and Memphis can <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MEM/" rel="noopener">rebound in the 2024-25 NBA season</a>. Smart still has two more years on his current contract and is still just 30 years old.</p><p>The 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and three-time NBA All-Defensive Team member could potentially see some action before the end of the regular season, but it’s not going to surprise much if the Grizzlies end up shutting him down for the rest of the campaign.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart, injured and out, gets ejected after going off at refs vs. Kings

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-memphis-releases-marcus-smart-desmond-bane-injury-updates');   ga('set', 'title', 'Grizzlies release encouraging Marcus Smart, Desmond Bane injury updates');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Grizzlies_news_Memphis_releases_encouraging_Marcus_Smart_Desmond_Bane_injury_updates_copy.webp"></figure><h1>Grizzlies release encouraging Marcus Smart, Desmond Bane injury updates</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-22T20:08:39-08:00">February 22nd, 8:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-22T20:08:39-08:00">February 22nd, 8:08pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Head coach Taylor Jenkins and the Memphis Grizzlies are currently in the midst of what would seem to be a bit of a lost season. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-gg-jackson-admits-crying-after-open-gyms-ahead-of-eye-opening-rookie-season" rel="noopener">Grizzlies are currently</a> well outside of postseason position in the vaunted Western Conference playoff picture, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-taylor-jenkins-fined-after-nsfw-ref-rant" rel="noopener">Jenkins and his staff</a> have had to navigate several devastating injuries so far this year, including most notably to star point guard Ja Morant, who was lost for the season just a couple of weeks after returning from a suspension to open up the year.</p><p>However, it’s not all bad news for Memphis, as recently, the team announced that it <a href="https://twitter.com/GrizzliesPR/status/1760847143357632980" rel="noopener">is getting closer</a> to seeing the return of two starters who have also been out of the lineup.</p><p>Shooting guard Desmond Bane, who has been out of the lineup since January 12 with a Grade 3 Left ankle sprain, is progressing and expected to return in three to five weeks, per Grizzlies PR on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.</p><p>Meanwhile, point guard Marcus Smart, who was injured on January 9 against the Dallas Mavericks, is also healing from his own finger injury and will be re-evaluated in three weeks.</p><p>With Morant officially out for the season, it’s objectively difficult to envision the Grizzlies making any legitimate postseason push even with Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart back in the lineup. However, Grizzlies fans will certainly want to see their team be as competitive as possible for the remainder of the year, and those efforts would be aided by their respective returns.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Grizzlies release encouraging Marcus Smart, Desmond Bane injury updates

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-zach-kleiman-hints-extended-injury-absences-desmond-bane-marcus-smart');   ga('set', 'title', 'Grizzlies GM hints at extended injury absences for Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart amid lost season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Memphis_GM_hints_at_extended_injury_absences_for_Desmond_Bane_Marcus_Smart_amid_lost_season.webp"></figure><h1>Grizzlies GM hints at extended injury absences for Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart amid lost season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-10T14:06:50-08:00">February 10th, 2:06pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-10T14:06:50-08:00">February 10th, 2:06pm</time><address><a>Benedetto Vitale</a>Benedetto Vitale is an avid sports writer who is an expert at covering the NFL, college football, and UFC. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a film degree but has since dedicated his career to sports writing. Go Titans, go Ducks, and go Kraken!</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Memphis <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-xavier-tillman-sends-fans-heartfelt-goodbye-celtics-trade" rel="noopener">Grizzlies have had it rough</a> this season as the roster just can’t stay healthy. There’s been some hope that Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart could come back from injury soon. But that optimism is flying out the window after the latest comments from general manager, Zach Kleiman.</p><p>Kleiman claims the Grizzlies are going to be “smart” when it comes to getting Bane and Smart <a href="https://grindcitymedia.com/2024/02/09/mikecheck-kleiman-charts-rosters-resurgent-path-ahead-as-grizzlies-pivot-amid-painful-season" rel="noopener">back in the lineup</a>, per Michael Wallace of Grind City Media. Although the hope is they’ll return after the NBA All-Star break, the Grizzlies general manager makes it sound like Bane and Smart may not return soon.</p><p>“Kleiman reiterated Friday that Bane (foot) and Smart (finger) are progressing through the initial stages of rehab and remain scheduled to be reevaluated sometime after next week’s NBA All-Star Break.”</p><p>‘We’ll be smart,’ Kleiman said of intentions that Bane and Smart could return at some point this season. ‘We’re going to make sure they’re in position to be fully healthy.'”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-rising-weapon-gg-jackson-ii-lands-4-year-contract" rel="noopener">The Grizzlies are</a> a bottom three team in the Western Conference. There was hope the season would turn around after Ja Morant came back from his 25 game suspension. But it was a short return as Morant fell to a season ending injury. Memphis is far behind the playoff race and considering Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart are still out, it might time to pull the plug on the season.</p><p>With that said, there is still a reason to be optimistic about this Grizzlies team. Ja Morant and everyone else should return to the lineup fully healthy. Additionally, Memphis will have great draft capital and have a chance to land a stud rookie to the roster. The future is still bright for this franchise. It’s just this season was a total disaster thanks to the injuries.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Grizzlies GM hints at extended injury absences for Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart amid lost season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-jayson-tatum-marcus-smart-admission-td-garden');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Jayson Tatum shares undeniable Marcus Smart admission after guard’s TD Garden return');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Jayson_Tatum_shares_undeniable_Marcus_Smart_admission_after_guard_s_TD_Garden_return.webp"></figure><h1>Celtics’ Jayson Tatum shares undeniable Marcus Smart admission after guard’s TD Garden return</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-05T10:36:11-08:00">February 5th, 10:36am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-05T10:36:11-08:00">February 5th, 10:36am</time><address><a>Daniel Donabedian</a>Daniel Donabedian is a beat reporter for ClutchPoints covering the Boston Celtics. He's also covered Villanova men's basketball and Big East basketball, building a strong reputation in the northeast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Boston Celtics crushed the undermanned Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday afternoon, blowing them out 131-91. But, the 40-point win at TD Garden was not the primary concern for a lot of Celtics fans.</p><p>Instead, they were focused on giving former Celtic guard Marcus Smart the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/marcus-smart-gets-heartwarming-welcome-in-celtics-return-after-grizzlies-trade" rel="noopener">best homecoming possible</a>. The 2022 Defensive Player of the Year spent his first nine seasons in Boston before getting traded to Memphis last summer. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jayson-tatum-gets-100-real-about-shocking-departure-of-marcus-smart-from-celtics" rel="noopener">shocking deal</a> was a major move from Boston’s front office and it’s seemed to work so far, as the Celtics are 38-12 and in first place in the Eastern Conference.</p><p>Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who played alongside Smart for six seasons, was <a href="https://twitter.com/JackSimoneNBA/status/1754336752955711806" rel="noopener">delighted to witness</a> the Boston faithful cheer on Smart during his return, per CelticsBlog reporter Jack Simone.</p><p>“Marcus Smart, he was the fan favorite. And everybody knew that. The way he played. He wore his heart on his sleeve … We have some very smart fans. And they saw that,” Tatum said. “They appreciated that. It was really cool to see. I’m surprised he didn’t cry because that was special.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The Celtics welcomed Marcus Smart back to Boston with a BEAUTIFUL tribute video and a standing ovation 🥹<a href="https://t.co/FNRGSNofEj">pic.twitter.com/FNRGSNofEj</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1754286123512136039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Jayson Tatum led Celtics to victory over Grizzlies</b></h2><p>While Tatum might have been excited to see Smart back in Beantown, he showed the short-handed Grizzlies no mercy. He posted an impressive 34 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in 31 minutes.</p><p>This was Smart’s first time back in Boston as part of another team, but he hasn’t actually played against the C’s yet. When Boston beat Memphis 102-100 in November, Smart was out with a left foot sprain. On Sunday, he had to sit due to a right finger injury that’ll sideline him for at least two more weeks.</p><p>Unless Smart is moved before <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-andre-drummond-kelly-olynyk-celtics-interest-trade-deadline" rel="noopener">the trade deadline</a> on February 8th, he probably won’t meet his former team until next season. The Grizzlies have been destroyed by injuries and at 18-32 overall, are well out of the playoff picture.</p><p>Regardless of when the C’s and Smart reunite next, there’s no doubt that the Celtics fans in attendance will show him the love he deserves.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Jayson Tatum shares undeniable Marcus Smart admission after guard’s TD Garden return

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-marcus-smart-emotional-message-celtics-fans-awesome-return');   ga('set', 'title', 'Grizzlies: Marcus Smart’s emotional message to Celtics fans after awesome Boston return');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Grizzlies-news-Marcus-Smarts-emotional-message-to-Celtics-fans-after-awesome-Boston-return.webp"></figure><h1>Grizzlies: Marcus Smart’s emotional message to Celtics fans after awesome Boston return</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-04T20:51:04-08:00">February 4th, 8:51pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-04T20:51:04-08:00">February 4th, 8:51pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Even though he is no longer playing for the Boston Celtics, Marcus Smart will forever be remembered by fans of his first team in the NBA. The Memphis Grizzlies star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/marcus-smart-gets-heartwarming-welcome-in-celtics-return-after-grizzlies-trade" rel="noopener">felt the love of Celtics fans</a> when he made <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-vs-celtics-prediction-odds-pick-how-to-watch-2-4-2024" rel="noopener">returned to TD Garden on Sunday</a>. Smart was not able to suit up because of an injury, but that did not stop Boston fans from <a href="https://twitter.com/NoaDalzellNBA/status/1754328303148704076" rel="noopener">showering him with love</a>.</p><p>“Thank you guys. I love you guys forever. You guys will always be in my heart,” Smart said when asked during the postgame press conference about what he wanted to convey to Celtics fans (h/t Noa Dalzell).</p><p>Smart, who has been ruled out for several weeks due to a finger injury he sustained back in January, was traded by the Celtics to the Grizzlies back in June of 2023 through a three-team deal that also involved the Washington Wizards. In the trade, the Celtics acquired unicorn big man Kristaps Porzingis from the Wizards plus a first-round pick and Marcius Sasser from the Grizzlies.</p><p>Smart played his first nine seasons in the pros with the Celtics, and during his time there, Boston was a title contender for several years. It was also with the Celtics that Smart won the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2022 and got named to three NBA All-Defensive First Teams. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, Smart has been unable to contribute to the team in the last several games due to the said injury.</p><p>So far in his first season with the Grizzlies, Smart is averaging 14.5, 2.7 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
14.5	2.7	4.3	0.3	2.1

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
14.5	2.7	4.3	0.3	2.1

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