Marcus Smart is one of the most promising young players in the NBA, but he has been known to have a bit of a temper, and that immaturity will cost him some hard-earned cash.
The Boston Celtics point guard was fined $15,000 on Monday for making an obscene gesture toward an official Friday during a home win over the New York Knicks.
The incident apparently occurred late in the third quarter, when Smart was called for an offensive foul on Knicks guard Jose Calderon. Smart clearly disagreed with the call, and referee Marc Davis hit him with a technical foul.
It’s unclear what specific gesture brought on Smart’s fine, but game footage captured the young guard making a motion toward the ref that certainly could be described as obscene.
Marcus Smart fined $15K for 'obscene gesture' made in Friday's victory over the Knicks. https://t.co/ZipV389KS4 pic.twitter.com/JgZZLPgsOt
— theScore (@theScore) March 7, 2016
Smart, who turned 22 years old Sunday, now has technical fouls in his last two games after picking up one in Saturday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. But judging by his comments Monday at the team’s practice in Waltham, Mass., he’s not too worried about his emotions being an issue.
“I don’t think it’s nothing I have to change,” Smart told reporters, via Mass Live’s Jay King. “Everybody’s going to make mistakes, just not as a player but as officials, too. They’re humans just like us. So it’s nothing personal between the players or the refs to us or vice versa. It’s just everybody gets caught up in the moment of the game and stuff like that’s going to happen.”
His coach didn’t it as a major issue, either.
“I think there is a fine line (Smart needs to walk), for sure,” Brad Stevens said. “But I think you’d rather a guy be more competitive than not. And Marcus is really a great competitor. He gets frustrated, but he’s a young player and those are things that he can continue to learn.”
Let’s hit a few other notes out of the team’s practice Monday:
— The Celtics filled their 15th and final roster spot by signing forward Coty Clarke to a 10-day contract. Clarke, who briefly was on Boston’s roster during training camp, has spent the entire season to date with the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics’ D-League Affiliate. The 6-foot-7 forward had been averaging 16.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game while playing 26 minutes per contest.
“He was by no means given a 10-day. He was rewarded (for) his great play (in Maine),” Stevens said Monday of Clarke, via ESPN.com’s Chris Forsberg. “He really has played great. Our front office has been thrilled about him and thrilled about his play in Maine the whole year. … He’s kind of an undersized shooting forward, so we’ll see how it all goes from there. But he’s had a really nice year.”
— Speaking of shooting forwards, the Celtics received a welcome sight Monday, as forward Kelly Olynyk returned to practice for the first time since partially separating his shoulder Feb. 10 against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Olynyk didn’t rule out returning some time this week, but it sounds like he’s not quite in game shape yet.
“We’ll see it how it goes,” Olynyk said, via King. “It’s a little sore, a little stiff. I’d say it’s still not exactly where I want it to be yet, but it’s definitely on the right path, so we’ll see how it responds.”
Thumbnail photo via Marilyn Indahl/USA TODAY Sports Images
