Celtics Green 10/20: Marcus Smart to Miss Start of Regular Season
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is expected to miss the first couple weeks of the season due to an ankle sprain.
Is Marcus Smart injury-prone? In Wednesday night’s preseason finale against the New York Knicks, the third-year Celtics guard went down with what was later diagnosed as a left angle sprain.
The injury occurred in the first half of Boston’s 121-96 loss to the Knicks. Smart was driving to the basket and dished the ball into the corner. As his left foot came down, it landed on the foot of Justin Holiday and Smart went down instantly.
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Although the injury isn’t as serious as his recent ankle sprains, Smart will miss the first couple weeks of the season which is unfortunate because he appeared on the verge of taking his game to another level. His unavailability could also influence which player (s) fill the remaining roster spots.
After the game Wednesday, Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was still hopeful the injury wouldn’t keep Smart out for too long.
"“He’s had an ankle sprain or two in the past — but early indications are that it looks like hopefully not too long term,” Stevens said via ESPN. “We don’t know what it means; we’ll have a better idea in the next couple days.”"
Marcus Smart has missed time in each of his previous two seasons in the NBA.
Notes & quotes
Terry Rozier: The second-year guard is proving to have an influence whenever he steps on the court. In Wednesday’s game, Terry Rozier scored 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting in just 14 minutes played. With the injury to Marcus Smart, look for Rozier to take on more of a role to start the team at both guard positions.
Jaylen Brown: The rookie had another strong game to finish out the preseason. He led the Celtics with 17 points, but didn’t shoot as well. However, he was just 5-for-14 from the field. Although Jaylen Brown still needs to work on his consistency shooting wise, he has proven that he can find other ways to score and other ways to contribute to the team.
Jordan Mickey on Marcus Smart via CSNNE:
"“He’s our bulldog. He’ll guard the best guards they have. He’ll even guard the four-man (power forward). He’s a guy that doesn’t stop; he’ll give you all he has every night. Him with the ankle sprain hurts us, but that’s why we have other guys ready to step up and play a role.”"
Brad Stevens on when the 15-man roster decision will be made via Boston Herald:
"“I do not know the exact timing. I mean, we’ve talked about it a couple of times in the last couple of days, but I’ve only talked to Danny on the phone for 10 minutes today. I haven’t seen him in person. I’m sure than in the next few days — you know, Thursday, Friday, Saturday — we will probably get to make those decisions.”"
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The Boston Celtics begin their regular season schedule against the Brooklyn Nets at TD Bank Garden next Wednesday night.