Marcus Smart inspired his Celtics teammates with his toughness, his hustle and his ability to make big plays in their win over the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Danny Ainge has watched Marcus Smart’s block of Norman Powell at several video speeds.

“You look at the slow motion version of that – it’s incredible,” the Celtics president and general manager said Saturday.

“Marcus is jumping six inches higher than he’s even capable of jumping. He is off the ground.”

From the position of Kemba Walker’s hands – reaching up to the elevated Smart’s waist – it almost looks like the Celtics point guard is lifting his teammate in the air.

“I don’t know how he got that high – but he got as high as he needed to get the ball,” said Ainge. That’s what he’s all about. … That block of Marcus’ will go down in history as a great play.”

And the Celtics, for all of their weaponry, wouldn’t be on their way to the team’s third conference finals appearance in four seasons without Smart and that rare ability to win games through his drive and defense.

“The hustle, the block, the toughness,” said Coach Brad Stevens. “He got a couple loose balls, he almost came up with another couple rebounds there toward the end of the game. Yeah, I mean, he’s a huge part of our team, he’s a huge part of our organization, and I said this before the playoffs, we’ve got a chance to play in this great event every year he’s been here, and it’s not a coincidence.”

D UP

Part of Smart’s role has been to re-create the defensive culture on this team after losing Al Horford and Aron Baynes in the offseason.

“Losing those two guys was definitely a big hit to our defense and our team,” said Smart. “But it just allowed other people like Jayson (Tatum) and Jaylen (Brown), (Daniel) Theis, and Rob Williams to step in and really pick up the slack on their end and that’s tremendous for us because not only do you have Jayson and Jaylen playing offense, but you have both playing defense and becoming two-way players. That’s just incredible for our team and it only helps us and makes us better. Even though we lost two key guys on the defensive end, everybody else picked up the slack for them and picked it up for our team.”

Last year’s team, with Horford and Baynes, died quickly, five games into the second round against Milwaukee. This time, the Celtics are flourishing as a small-ball team with Theis now an invaluable player at center.”

WALKER’S RUN

As Kemba Walker has said since he signed in the summer of 2019, this is why he came.

“I’ve been in the playoffs two times before this,” said Walker. “So from that, and the last one was five years ago, so to be here in my first year and play in the Eastern Conference finals against a really good Miami Heat team, we have a chance to advance past that. It’s big-time, a special feeling for me.

“It feels good man, it feels good to be able to play meaningful basketball,” he said. “We have a special group. It’s just an unreal feeling, super excited.”

Nowhere does Walker feel that excitement more than in the play of his younger teammates – Tatum, Brown and Smart.

“It’s everything I expected. I knew how great those guys are,” said Walker. “I knew how hard they worked. I knew they were rising superstars. I just felt like I can help their growth a little bit. It’s everything I expected. It’s been so much fun being around these guys, even from last game.

“Me and Jaylen spoke (Thursday) night, and he was a little bit disappointed in himself. And he told me he was going to be a little better from last game to this game, and he did. He made certain plays tonight that he didn’t make last game,” he said. “His poise, he was so under control. He was great. That’s how it has to be. You have to learn from your mistakes, and he’s a really smart kid who works hard and loves the game of basketball. I’m just really proud of him and Jayson, he led us. Like I said, he’s a superstar. That dude is a superstar, they love the game of basketball. They love to play, they love to compete, they love to win, and I love to be a part of it.”