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Marcus Smart Would Like Everyone To Stop Kicking Him In The Groin

By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- Marcus Smart continues to provide some tenacious defense for the Boston Celtics, but he's taking a beating in the process. There's one part of his body in particular that the Celtics guard would like opponents to stop smashing into, which he made clear following Monday night's 116-106 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

During the victory, Smart took another shot to his smarties. He was kicked in the groin and went down in a heap, and this is not the first time this season that he's been hit were it hurts. It's a byproduct of his defensive style, though it's something he'd like to solve in the near future.

"It's nothing new for me, I've been taking a beating my whole life. But I don't know what it is, I keep getting kicked in the groin," he joked with reporters. "I don't know what it is about that. We've got to figure out a solution to stop that. I'm used to it. It's what I do, and I pride myself on that."

Smart is known for sticking his nose in just about any battle on the floor, but his groin has become an innocent bystander for a lot of his on-court collisions. It doesn't help his cause that Smart has been a willing participant at D-ing up against much bigger opponents, and he did so again Monday night when he took the reins against 7-foot-2 Mavs center Kristaps Porzingis. He helped hold Porzingis to just 1-for-11 shooting, though as we saw in the game, that defense came with a price.

He's one of the toughest defenders in the league, so you won't hear Smart complain too much about taking a beating. But his defensive matchups against bigger opponents will continue, and Smart would like to find a solution to keep that vulnerable spot safe, especially with the season just a few weeks old.

Celtics president of basketball ops. Danny Ainge offered up a possible solution on Tuesday morning, hearkening back to his days on the baseball diamond.

It would probably be wise for Smart to at least give that a shot, since he's definitely going to take a few more of those painful shots throughout the season.

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