The Boston Celtics are primed to face the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the NBA playoffs, but they will have to do so without Marcus Smart. The team announced on Wednesday that the defensive stalwart suffered a torn left oblique and will miss the first round, and possibly the next if the Celtics were to make it.
Espn’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report Smart’s injury which occurred during on Sunday during a game against the Orlando Magic where he made contact with the Magic’s Nikola Vucevic while attempting to box out for a rebound.
Marcus Smart has suffered a torn oblique on left side and could be sidelined for the first two rounds of the playoffs, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 10, 2019
Boston, in a statement, expects Smart to miss basketball-related activities for at least four to six weeks.
Following from the Celtics,
The Boston Celtics announced Wednesday that an afternoon MRI revealed that Marcus Smart suffered a partial avulsion of his left oblique abdominal muscle off of his iliac crest. The injury occurred at 6:44 in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against Orlando, following contact with the Magic’s Nikola Vucevic.
Smart is currently expected to return to basketball activities in 4-6 weeks. Further updates will be provided as appropriate.
The absence of the 25-year-old Smart will assuredly be felt as he has become a proven defensive presence, and he has worked to turn himself into a reliable shooting threat.
This season, Smart is shooting a career high from the three-point arc at 36 percent on 4.3 attempts a game. Averaging a career high in steals with 1.8 per game, Smart ranks sixth in the league.
For the season, Smart is averaging 8.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and four assists per game.
The Celtics will start their first-round series against the Pacers on Sunday, April 14.
