The Boston Celtics have been without starting guard Marcus Smart for the past six games and have actually done just fine without him, as they are 3-3 in those six games and now 10-8 overall. The hope when Smart went out with a leg injury was that he would only have to miss two weeks, but that was an optimistic point of view. Now president of basketball operations Danny Ainge thinks Smart might have to miss a few more weeks, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston.
The official injury Smart is dealing with is "a subluxation of the proximal tibfib joint," which basically means a bad bruise to his leg. About two weeks ago the Celtics said that Smart would be out for at least two weeks, and now that that timetable has passed it seems like they will be waiting a little bit longer for his return.
"I've spent a lot of time with Marcus over the last couple of days and he's been working out and doing his therapy. I don't know a timetable, you never know, Marcus will be the only one that will know when his leg will be completely healed. But the good news is there's no surgery needed; it's more like a bad sprain and he just needs time to get it healthy. It'd still probably be another few weeks, I'd guess," said Ainge.
Like Ainge said, it is very good news that Smart will not need surgery and there has been some sort of progress, as Smart is no longer on crutches, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England. Just because Smart isn't back in the two weeks head coach Brad Stevens had initially suggested doesn't mean he suffered a setback. At the time of the injury a doctor informed Smart that while a return in two weeks was possible, a 4-6- week timetable was more plausible.
With Smart out, Avery Bradley has stepped back into the starting lineup and has played well alongside Isaiah Thomas. R.J. Hunter has also seen some increased minutes since Smart went down, but after scoring 12 points in the first game without Smart he has missed his last six shots and picked up a DNP- coaches decision against the Miami Heat. It is unknown whether Smart will get his starting spot back when he returns, but the Celtics are high on him, and Bradley has proven he can be effective in any role so it is a very real possibility.
