Boston Celtics point guard Marcus Smart spoke to the media Saturday during the halftime of their Las Vegas Summer League loss against the San Antonio Spurs and discussed the status of his hand after he dislocated two fingers Thursday.
In their Summer League win over the Portland Trail Blazers last week, Smart was going for the rebound when he fell hard and his fingers were bent in a horrible manner following the fall.
The 21-year-old player screamed in pain and was attended by Celtics trainer Ed Lacerte. X-rays showed no broken bones.
"I feel a lot better now. Not so much pain as I was feeling the first couple of days. They've got me working on my motion, so everything's feeling better," Smart told reporters Saturday.
The former Oklahoma State standout also said there is no rush returning to doing basketball-related activities and the focus is on getting the strength of his fingers back.
Smart also shared the fear he had thinking he suffered a more serious injury to his hand after the fall.
"I'm pretty sure you saw the pictures and everything -- it looked like my fingers were done. I ended up getting five stitches on my index finger; I guess it broke skin, but I didn't know that at the time until after we got them popped back in, and I saw the blood on the top," he shared.
Smart added, "And then once it was back in, the pain went away for the moment. And then it was the fact that now I have to deal with this therapy and everything, trying to get this strength back."
It was fortunate that Smart did not suffer the injury near the season since he would be a huge loss to a young Celtics team who are starting to find their way back to prominence.
Last season Boston did not have a great start but managed to make it to the playoffs but was swept in the first-round by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
