The only thing ‘dangerous’ about Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart is his defense

Diving for loose balls is not ‘dirty’.

While it is undoubtedly a product of who ended up getting injured more than the nature of the play itself given it occurs in almost every game in the NBA schedule without such outcomes, a narrative with quite a bit of wind behind it regarding Marcus Smart‘s diving for a loose ball that caused him to injure Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry in the Boston Celtics‘ recent win over the Dubs has been circulating since the incident took place.

Even by the account of one of the most infamous defensive grifters in the league — Curry’s teammate Draymond Greene — it was not a “dirty” play, just an artifact of one of the grimiest players in the game doing his thing to secure a loose ball in no way in violation of league rules.

The host of the NBC Sports Boston podcast “Celtics Talk” Chris Forsberg was joined by Boston alumni and broadcasters Brian Scalabrine and Eddie House to discuss the controversy around Smart diving for the ball on Wednesday night.

Watch the clip embedded above to see what the trio says about the legitimacy of the play, Smart’s elite defense this season and who the Celtics ought to try to play in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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