Celtics-Bucks preview: Smart's flopping in focus

BOSTON – Marcus Smart is one of the biggest attention-grabbers on this Boston Celtics roster, more often than not for his defense.

But there is a side to his game that from time to time raises eyebrows even among the most die-hard Boston Celtics fans.

While his defense is undeniably impressive and a big part of his overall game, there are some who believe the same holds true when it comes to him exaggerating contact at times – some call it “flopping.”

Regardless of what you call it, there will be plenty of eyes on the 6-foot-4 guard tonight when the Celtics host the Milwaukee Bucks (24-33) who come into tonight’s game having won four of their last five games.

There’s no denying that there have been times when Smart has taken a hit that wasn’t nearly as hard as his response was to contact.

But before we go any further, here’s how the league defines flopping.

“The NBA flopping rule states that players may not commit any physical act that, following review, reasonably appears to be intended to cause the game officials to call a foul on another player.  As was the case last season, the determination of whether a player has violated the rule prohibiting flopping will be made by the League following video review of the play.  During the regular season, the first time a player is determined to have committed a flop, he will be warned by the NBA.”

Here’s a list of the players who have been warned this season: 

Player, Team                    Flopping Violations     Most Recent

Allen, Tony (MEM)                   Warning                10/29/15

Barnes, Matt (MEM)                 Warning                11/9/15

Gooden, Drew (WAS)               Warning                1/25/16

Knight, Brandon (PHX)             Warning                12/7/15

Lowry, Kyle (TOR)                    Warning                12/28/15

Millsap, Paul (ATL)                  Warning                12/29/15

Redick, J.J. (LAC)                     Warning                1/27/16

Varejao, Anderson (CLE)          Warning                1/18/16


Big men. Guards. Elite defenders.

There’s a wide cross-section of players on this list.

So why hasn’t Smart been popped for flopping?

Because there’s a fine line between exaggerating contact which Smart does from time to time, and actually committing an act that “reasonably appears” as though he is trying to get a foul called.

And nobody seems to straddle it better than Smart.

Yes it can be frustrating to opponents and even make some of the most die-hard Celtics fans cringe just a little when they see it happen.

But Smart is all-in when it comes to helping the Celtics be successful.

And if that means taking a big fall after a little bit of contact is made to get the call, so be it.

We see it happen all the time with some of the league’s biggest and brightest stars like Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers and Miami’s Dwyane Wade (they’re not on the list of players warned about flopping, either).

After all, one person’s flopping is another’s gamesmanship.

I asked Smart about flopping and whether it was something he was concerned with going forward.

“I’m going to play my game,” he said. “I’m going to play hard every day. That’s something this coach and this organization don’t have to worry about. I’m not worried about all the other stuff that comes with it. I’m just gonna play my game.”

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens isn’t overly concerned about Smart’s reputation as much as he wants him to make the right basketball plays when he’s on the floor.

“I don’t lose sleep over those things,” Stevens said. “You have to be conscious of making the right basketball play. We met and talked about that a little bit. He’s a young player and he’s got a lot of games in front of him. Continuing to focus on the little things he does, and making the right basketball play is the most important thing.”

And that tends to be what Smart excels at. Not only does he bring a high level of physicality to the game and improving off-the-ball instincts defensively, but he’s locked into unleashing a bit of mental warfare on opponents as well.

That’s where the flopping comes in.

Because he’s such a good defender, it becomes difficult for referees to discern between him taking an exaggerated spill or simply having great position to draw a charge or offensive foul.

Smart knows the questions about flopping will persist, but he doesn’t see it becoming an issue for him or his teammates.

For Smart, everything he does on the floor has one goal in mind which is to win the game.

And anything that takes away from that, he wants no part of.

“We can’t focus on anything else and let distractions take us from what we want to do,” Smart said.