The Boston Celtics will have to try to find a way to survive in the next two weeks without starting and sophomore playmaker Marcus Smart.
According to a report by Sports Illustrated, Smart suffered a partial dislocation on his left knee after the Celtics match against the Brooklyn Nets last Sunday. Smart incurred the injury after a knee-to-knee collision with Nets forward Thomas Robinson.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens relayed the bad news, admitting that Smart was a big loss for their campaign, but he is hopeful that the sophomore guard can recuperate soon and rejoin the team.
The injury does not reportedly require surgery, although Stevens says that the Celtics will re-evaluate Smart as he goes through the proper rehabilitation process.
The setback is not categorized as a season-ending thing but for the time-being, Avery Bradley will be tasked to revert to the starting point guard role alongside Isaiah Thomas.
Aside from Bradley and Thomas, other guards in the lineup may likely end up getting more minutes.
That includes the likes of Jonas Jerebko who, Stevens says, is likely to fill in the minutes lost with Smart temporarily out of action.
Smart seems to be a favorite customer of sick bay, having suffered varying injuries which dates back to last season.
During his rookie year, Smart played only 67 games and missed a large chunk of the early part of the 2014–15 season due to an ankle injury.
Before the current injury, Smart also missed three games earlier this month because of a sprained big toe. So is Smart injury-prone?
Regardless, the Celtics are hoping that he gets up from this setback since his defensive prowess is something that has been helping the Boston's cause so far.
The Celtics missed Smart's numbers in their 97–121 loss to the Atlanta Hawks last Tuesday. Smart holds averages of 9.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.8 steals in just over 27 minutes of action. It remains to be seen if Bradley and Thomas can step it up to make up for those lost numbers.
