BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 28: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets fouls Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics during the fourth quarter of the game at TD Garden on December 28, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

Marcus Smart is establishing himself as the premier individual defender in the NBA

When you look at the offensive talent in the NBA right now, it is easy to come to the conclusion that there are players that simply cannot be defended one on one. There are players that can impose their will against any individual defender, and it is clear that the best offense will get an advantage over the best defense every time.

Taking that into account, there are variations in how much resistance a player can put up. Playing great defense is not going to be about winning every battle and completely shutting someone down, because that is impossible.

You do not need to shut a player down completely to be capable of defending them, because if you are able to at least slow down and disrupt a player like James Harden you are truly elite. We have known for a while that Marcus Smart is one of the elite guards in the league, and after his performance against Harden, you can make a case that he is the best individual defending guard in the NBA.

When you look at what Smart did to Harden, on top of everything else he has done in his career, there is not a single matchup that he is not capable of handling. We have seen Brad Stevens push his versatility far beyond what should be possible for a guard, and we have seen him shut down the best ball handlers the league has to offer.

His performance against Harden, however, may have been his finest performance yet. The positions lineup, but Harden’s size is supposed to be an advantage on Smart, on top of all the quickness and athleticism.

Harden has looked like one of the most unguardable players in the history of the NBA this season, and Smart absolutely shut him down, allowing the Celtics to get one of their most impressive victories of the season.

Stevens will always give top players different looks, but you truly cannot do better than Smart did on him last night. When defended by Smart, Harden shot 0-7 and had four turnovers, including the consecutive offensive fouls that directly lead to the victory. You can complain about whether or not Smart flopped, but the bottom line is that he forced Harden into the mistakes, and he was not able to get comfortable any time Smart was in his way. It was not just that Harden was missing the shots, because Smart was forcing him into contested and off balanced looks. Smart will make things more difficult on an offense than anyone else in the league, and we saw the frustration build up in Harden last night.

It has been a long time since a guard won defensive player of the year, and Smart could have a tough time just beating out his teammate in Al Horford, but he is absolutely building a legitimate case, because there is no individual defender that can do as much as Smart does.

He has never feared anyone and is better than any other guard at making up for being undersized. He has the strength and athleticism to never get pushed around, even by bigs. Now that the weight is down, he has the speed and explosiveness to stay with the quickest and most elusive player in the NBA in Harden.

There is a good chance that he and Stevens already had this confidence, but there can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Smart can handle any matchup the Celtics want. Again, it is not like Smart is going to dominate these assignments like he did against Harden. What matters is that we now know that Smart can disrupt anyone when he is at his best.

The best offense will always beat the best defense, but it is near impossible to get that best offense when smart is locking you down. When you take into account how many clutch defensive plays Smart has this season, you would be foolish to keep him out of any defensive player of the year conversations. And, quite frankly, he has done enough in his career to be considered as good of a defender as anyone else in the NBA right now.

Smart has been special on defense throughout his career, and now things are really starting to polish off. Smart is one of the most remarkable players in the NBA, and there is good and bad that comes with that. When the good is good enough to shut down a player like Harden the way Smart did, and when you always bring that good in the most important minutes, it really does not matter how much bad there is along the way.

You cannot overstate the importance of Smart to this team, and if he can maintain the decent shooting improvement, then he could make himself a lot of money this season