Marcus Smart

is one of my favorite new athletes of the millennium.

I stand by my Xander Bogaerts / Marcus Smart parallel. I think they are similarly poised to establish themselves as standouts of their generations, for similar reasons of professionalism, intelligence and hard work. Xander worked himself into a gold glove-worthy defensive performance after showing little to no natural defensive abilities until last season. And it seems like every morning there's another Smart highlight that's all about Garnett-esque want-to.

For shiggles it would be funny to throw them into an ad campaign with David Pastrnak. David's smile and enthusiasm would be a nice addition in terms of the media posters, etc. He's not at the same level as the other two yet in his career but has shown a consistent willingness to learn and work on his areas of weakness that have led to the career explosions of the other two.

It's enjoyable to watch such effort and performance from young players still finding their way.