What Jayson Tatum Has Planned For Marcus Smart In Celtics-Grizzlies Duel

Marcus Smart hasn’t taken the TD Garden floor since being traded, making Saturday night’s Boston Celtics-Memphis Grizzlies matchup sentimental, not just for the 30-year-old veteran guard.

Smart was injured during his initial return to Boston last season, but he still received an emotional tribute video, was honored as the night’s “Hero Among Us” and was drowned with love from Celtics fans. This time, Smart will get a chance to suit up and compete against his former teammates for the first time since sharing the floor with them in the 2023 Eastern Conference finals.

“Thrilled. Thrilled to see Smart tomorrow,” Jayson Tatum told reporters after Friday night’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks, per NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “As you all know how much he means to this city, to this franchise. Ultimate Celtic. He’ll always be a Celtic for life. I played with him for six years and didn’t envision a time where I wouldn’t be on his team so if does play tomorrow, it’ll be a little weird. I’ll probably go out there and tackle the (expletive) out of him or something.”

The Grizzlies have Smart listed as questionable against the Celtics with a right ankle sprain, which could make him a game-time decision for head coach Taylor Jenkins.

Smart, the last Celtics player to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award (2021-2022), spent nine years with Boston. The Celtics selected the Oklahoma State product sixth overall in the 2014 draft and watched Smart blossom into a pesky, hard-nosed workhorse that fans appreciated. He endured every aching step of Boston’s rebuild process from the early years of then-head coach Brad Stevens to the Isaiah Thomas, Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker chapters.

However, Smart couldn’t stick around long enough to enjoy the fruits of a nearly decade-long stint in a Celtics uniform. Boston traded Smart in its three-team deal to land Kristaps Porzingis two offseasons ago, which helped the team capture its 18th banner. It was a bittersweet goodbye, but one Smart came to terms with.

Smart already knows he’ll get a standing ovation (or a couple) along with a bunch of hugs and handshakes from the Celtics bench. Still, the now-veteran leader of the 15-8 Grizzlies is preparing for what Boston — Tatum tackles aside — will have prepared for him.

“I’m sure they see how good I’ve been playing, and they’re going to try to make sure I don’t come in there and have a great game,” Smart told The Commercial Appeal’s Damichael Cole. “It’s a big test for us.”

Smart left Boston having finished fourth all-time in steals (914), fifth all-time in 3-pointers made (911) and 11th all-time in assists (2,700), logging 581 career games in a Celtics uniform including 108 in the playoffs and one trip to the NBA Finals.