Smart happy to give thumb’s up
CELTICS NOTEBOOK
MILWAUKEE — The good news for Marcus Smart is relative. Two days after returning to the lineup for Game 5 against the Bucks, the Celtics guard has an alternative way of knowing his surgically repaired thumb is fine.
“No soreness. My body is more sore than my thumb is,” Smart said yesterday. “So that’s a good sign as well. So I’m just happy that everything went as planned and I’m glad to be back on the court.”
The joke is that rust doesn’t matter for a player whose inconsistent shooting takes a back seat to launching his body like a torpedo at the ball. As such, Smart hasn’t felt a difference in his shooting due to the brace he wears.
“Actually no. As the game went on it felt like it wasn’t even there more and more, so that’s a good thing,” he said. “I think I made all of my free throws, which is a good sign. I took two 3’s. I missed them, but they were on line and felt good. That’s part of the rust not being here in the game. So I feel like today will be different for me. Those shots will fall.
“But definitely I’ve been feeling comfortable with the brace.”
The brace has held up against contact.
“Actually held up pretty well,” Smart said. “I’m excited about it. I took a couple of hits yesterday and it held up well, so that was a big confidence booster for me to keep playing.”
Smart also has his eyes on playing as many minutes as possible.
“I don’t (think there) is,” he said of whether there will be a minutes restriction,” he said. “I think they were just being cautionary about the whole first time with the contact and the thumb and they just wanted to make sure they maintained all the steps to make sure I’m OK. I think yesterday kind of proved it so I don’t think I’ll be playing less than 25 minutes tonight.”
Semi-tough role
Smart loves the job Semi Ojeleye did in Game 5 against Giannis Antetokounmpo. The rookie power forward has displayed a rare lateral quickness for someone his size.
“That’s an ox right there,” Smart said of Ojeleye. “When you’ve got somebody his size and with his determination, that’s good for us. So we like our matchups the way we are starting off the game and me coming off bringing the edge off the bench.”
Smart will continue coming off the bench — Brad Stevens said yesterday he’s not thinking about a change — and has no problem with the continued sixth man/finisher role.
“No we haven’t talked about it. We actually like our starting lineup,” said Smart. “Semi Ojeleye has been doing a great job on Giannis. He matches up really well.”
Ojeleye admittedly had to work hard not to show his excitement too much upon first getting the news he was a starter.
“It is hard, because I realize how big it is, how much of an honor it is, for sure,” he said. “But, in the moment, I was just trying to focus on my job.”
Big brother
Marcus Morris, at 28, was never considered a socalled “old head” until he became a Celtic. Now he’s offering advice to the young guys.
“One of the closer teams I’ve been on,” he said. “The age discrepancy isn’t really that close, but there’s a lot of younger guys who keep you feeling good. They just look at me like a big brother. I’m here to help them with whatever they need. I enjoy being around these cats. They work hard. You wouldn’t know the age of any of them with the way they work. It’s just enjoyable playing with these guys.”
Fresh legs
One of the biggest benefits for Smart to come out of his six-week absence was the freshness in his legs.
“Definitely. You spend more time on your legs and get your legs stronger but you’re not taking an impact like you are over an 82-game season and just constantly putting that pressure on legs,” he said of the playoff pace. “You get to rest a little bit and workouts are shorter so you have a little more legs.”