Marcus Smart received his fair share of criticism for the way he plays, especially on defense. The newly crowned Defensive Player of the Year says he is used to being targeted by fans and is not willing to change the way he plays.
Ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals where the Celtics will face the Warriors, the 28-year-old point guard was reminded of an incident earlier this year that led to Steph Curry’s ankle injury. The three-time NBA champion was forced to miss the last 12 regular season games.
Smart says there was no intention from him to cause an injury to his opponent and Curry himself admitted he did not try to hurt him.
Via Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports:
“I’m used to it,” Smart told Yahoo Sports. “When am I not a target by fans, especially while going up against their favorite player? It’s always been like that. I know I’m not the league’s favorite, I know I’m not the fan favorite all the time and I know I’m not a lot of people’s favorite player. My whole life has been like that. I’ve always been the underdog…My team got my back, so I’m good.”
