WALTHAM -- Yes, Marcus Smart saw James Harden drop Wesley Johnson. The whole basketball world saw the play, which qualified as one of the most obvious shows of NBA disrespect ever. Harden crossed over Johnson then stood there, almost posing, as the defender sat on the floor, twisted around, helpless, and shown up.

If you haven't seen it already, you really should. And if you have, you'll surely want to see it another time (or 10):

How would Smart react if Harden pulls off a similar move against him?

"I'd rather not answer that," Smart chuckled.

On a more serious note, Smart said he relishes the opportunity to defend superstars like Harden. The last time the Celtics and Rockets met, in December, Smart finished off a zany 26-point comeback by taking two charges on the MVP candidate over the final 7.3 seconds. The conclusion only made sense because, well, Marcus Smart.

"I love (competing against Harden)," Smart said after a Celtics practice Thursday. "It's an opportunity for me to challenge myself on the defensive end and each and every day I'm up for those type of challenges. My teammates and the coaching staff give me the confidence to have the ability to do that, when those opportunities come, to do everything I can in my ability to help this team win."

"Nothing personal," explained Smart. "It's just the way I was taught basketball. There's some friends I'm cool with in this league, and once we step on the court I'm not your friend, I'm not trying to really talk to you. I might laugh and joke, but at the end of the day when you have the ball and the ball's tipped off, it's time to go. I'm trying to do everything I can to help my team win. So I think that's the way the game is supposed to be played and that's the way I play it."

Harden has been outstanding this season while averaging 31.3 points, 8.9 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game. Now teamed with Chris Paul, Harden has helped lead the Rockets to 14 straight wins.

"The way he scores the ball and the way he's an offensive threat, he makes it hard on a defense," Smart said. "And like I said, it's a challenge that I love. And he's definitely going to challenge me. So I'm looking forward to it, but like I said, because he is great offensively, it's going to take more than just me or any one person on this team. It's going to take all five of us."

"They're a special team," added Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. "Really good, and the way they play offense is really tough to stop, and defensively they're really improved, very versatile, very long, play with multiple efforts."

Theis update

Injured Celtics big man Daniel Theis is expected to travel with the Celtics on their three-game road trip to Houston, Chicago and Minnesota -- or, at least, he was before undergoing additional tests on his injured hamstring Thursday morning. Stevens did not know the results of those tests when he met with the media, but, if nothing new is detected, Theis is expected to make the trip.

"Right now I don't know what his likelihood (to play against the Rockets) would be," Stevens said. "But we wouldn't travel him if we didn't think he'd be ready to play at some point in the trip."

Kyrie can shoot

Just in case you want to see Kyrie Irving make a lot of jumpers, here you go: