Kendrick Perkins questions Marcus Smart’s leadership: Who’s holding him accountable?
Kendrick #Kendrick
In a season full of bad losses, the Celtics’ dismal effort against the Thunder goes down as their worst. Entering Tuesday, the Thunder dropped 14 straight games and were on the second night of a back-to-back, a spot where they lose by an average of more than 30 points. But at the Garden, they were victorious. This was an absolute embarrassment.
Marcus Smart was one of the worst offenders of the night, shooting a dismal 4-of-17 from the field and getting slapped with a technical foul. Throughout the season, Smart has emerged as the Celtics’ most vocal leader, willing to challenge players when they’re playing disjointed basketball. But who’s there to challenge Smart?
Kendrick Perkins raised the question on NBC Sports Boston.
“Marcus Smart is the guy that’s really the vocal leader of the locker room, right?,” he said. “We read or heard stories about him going off in the locker room when he felt like the team wasn’t playing hard enough. I wonder who walks up to Marcus Smart and tells him when he’s not playing at the level he’s supposed to be playing at? What level of accountability does anybody in the locker room hold him accountable for?”
Earlier this month, Perkins called out Jayson Tatum for his defeated demeanor, and the Celtics responded with six straight wins. But that stretch appeared to be a mirage. The Celtics have now lost four of five, including games to the undermanned Nets and Hornets and woeful Bulls.
Perkins can only do so much prodding from his Zoom feed. It’s up to the players in the locker room to change their course. And with 10 games left in the season, they’re shown us exactly who they are: uninspired and dispirited.