This Wednesday is Marcus Smart Day here at NBC Sports Boston. Be sure to check out our exclusive content around Smart throughout the day, both online and on the broadcast of Spurs-Celtics.
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The Boston Celtics saw their three-game win streak come to an end Monday night as they fell to the Washington Wizards, 99-94.
It was a sloppy one all around for the C's as they turned the ball over 16 times and simply couldn't get the easy shots to fall throughout the game.
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Here are three instant overreactions from C's loss, which brings them to 25-9 on the season:
1. Celtics are missing Kemba Walker's spark.
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Verdict: Not an overreaction
Walker missed his third straight game with an illness, and once again his absence was noticeable.
The Celtics have gotten off to slow starts in all three of their games without Walker. They managed to get away with it against the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls, but couldn't get the job done Monday night against a shorthanded Wizards team that possesses one of the worst defensive units in the league.
Boston will hope to have their star point guard back in the lineup when they take on the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
2. Marcus Smart needs to cool it with the 3s.
Verdict: Overreaction
Smart, not exactly known as a dead-eye shooter, jacked up a game-high 10 3-point attempts and only hit three of them. And that's OK.
As mentioned in Overreaction No. 1, the Celtics needed any kind of spark in what was a sluggish showing from tipoff to the final buzzer. Smart, as he tends to do, tried to provide that spark.
It was a lackluster shooting night for pretty much every C's player not named Jayson Tatum, who had 17 points on 8-for-20 shooting. Jaylen Brown struggled mightily before finally heating up toward the end of the game, finishing with 23 points (7-for-22).
3. Celtics should trade for Davis Bertans.
Verdict: Overreaction
A report surfaced on Monday stating the C's are suitors for Wizards forward Davis Bertans. We didn't see Bertans in this game due to a quad injury, but we didn't need to see him in order to know Boston trading for him would be the wrong move.
If the Celtics are going to trade an impactful player before the Feb. 6 deadline, it should be a center. Bertans' price tag is going to be far too high to warrant a deal for a scorer off the bench, especially when this is a C's team that already has a surplus of wing players capable of putting up points.
Bertans is averaging 15.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game this season.
Forsberg: Celtics a perfect diversion for sad Patriots fans
Don't miss Marcus Smart Day and NBC Sports Boston's coverage of Celtics-Spurs, which tips off Wednesday at 6 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live, and then Mike and Scal have the call at 7 p.m. You can also stream the game on the MyTeams App.