Believe it or not, but Marcus Smart is the elder statesman for this Boston Celtics team.
The longest tenured Celtic, Smart, who is now in his sixth NBA season, has fully taken over team leadership duties for a squad that certainly lacked that presence a season ago.
But the most notable change for this team compared to last season is that Smart won’t have to lead the charge by himself. While the C’s have only gone through training camp and played just two preseason games, including Friday night’s 100-75 road win over the Orlando Magic, there’s a sense that the C’s, from the younger budding stars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to the veteran mainstays like Smart, have learned from last year’s turbulent season to come together as a complete unit.