Celtics vie to cut down Nets with Smart back tonight
Will be on minutes restriction
The Celtics should get a significant and important jolt to their rotation when they open the second half of the NBA season tonight in Brooklyn.
Guard Marcus Smart, who has been out since suffering a calf strain in the fourth quarter of a game on Jan. 30 against the Los Angeles Lakers, expects to return against the star-studded Nets.
CELTICS NOTEBOOK
Smart practiced with the team on Wednesday
“It felt great,” said Smart after the practice. “Today was my first day to really get out there and play five-onfive and get contact, and really press it to the limit to see. It felt really good.
“It was hard to really do stuff over the (all-star) break — five-on-five and stuff like that — so today was the first day it felt great. They cleared me and said if today went well, I’m probably, most likely going to play (Thursday), unless something changes. As of right now, I will be planning to play in the game (Thursday).”
Smart is averaging careerhighs of 13.1 points, 6.1 assists and 32.3 minutes this season. The Celtics (19-17) certainly missed their emotional leader and best defensive player, going just 9-9 in the 18 games he was sidelined.
It was on the defensive end that the C’s really struggled during Smart’s absence. They allowed at least 115 points seven times, and allowed an opposing player to score 30 or more points in a stretch of six straight games.
That was tough for the ultra-competitive Smart to watch.
“I think for anybody that’s sitting on the sideline because of an injury or something that they can’t control that stops them from playing, especially when you know how good of a defensive team we can be and we are,” said Smart. “Especially for me, being a defensive guy, it really is tough.”
Up until Wednesday, Smart had been playing oneon-one with coaches, while trying to replicate game-like situations. He also performed lots of strengthening exercises like calf raises.
He said he was pleased to spend more time with his family and got a new puppy, which now gives him two dogs.
“To have this last week to myself and really get away from the team and focus on (the calf) has been huge,” said Smart. “It’s extra rest that I could get, extra rehab and extra strengthening that I could get to do for the calf.”
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens is definitely happy to have Smart back.
“He’s a good player. He’s a guy that knows how to play, plays both ends of the court, makes us better on both ends of the court. So, obviously, that’s going to help a ton,” said Stevens.
The Nets (24-13) enter tonight’s game with the second-best record in the East and have an elite offensive backcourt in James Harden and Kyrie Irving, so the timing of Smart’s return is helpful. Stevens did say, however, that Smart will be on a minutes restriction for at least his first couple games back.
The Celtics haven’t been able to have their full nucleus together very much this season. Aside from Smart’s injury, Jayson Tatum missed significant time because of COVID-19, and Kemba Walker hasn’t been playing on the second night of back-tobacks since returning from his left knee injury.
Smart hopes the C’s can put their inconsistency in the rearview mirror.
“I just want us to forget about that first half, in the sense of forget how we played,” said Smart. “The past is over, we get a fresh start in the second half and we control the narrative.”
Langford out again
On Wednesday morning, Stevens woke up thinking he would have his full roster available at practice.
However, second-year guard Romeo Langford, who hasn’t played all season due to a right wrist injury, missed practice due to health and safety protocols.
“He was cleared to play (from the injury), but then I don’t know what that means over the next few days and how that will look,” said Stevens.
“But he did not practice today — we got word at about 10 a.m. that he wasn’t going to be able to practice. I would guess that he will not travel with us.”
Stevens noted that practice time this week is extra valuable because the second-half schedule will be so hectic with 36 games in what is essentially a nine-week span. That’ll leave little room for practice, outside of film work and walkthroughs.
Shutdown reflections
Fans will be allowed to attend sporting events in a limited capacity in the state starting on March 22. For the
Celtics, their first opportunity to play in front of fans will be March 29 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Smart said playing in empty arenas has been a very difficult part of the pandemic.
“We miss that fan interaction,” said Smart. “Being able to go into a crowded gym, a crowded arena and you feel that presence when you walk in and the jitters that you get, that excitement that you get from those fans.”
With the one-year anniversary of the sports world shutting down during those beginning days of the health crisis, Smart was asked what the last year has been like.
“It’s been a whirlwind, it’s been a tornado type of year,” he said. “Not knowing if we can get in the gym at a certain time because we have to test, or a test didn’t come back and we’re waiting on a test.
“All kinds of things that you have to worry about that in previous years you never had to worry about. And that’s for everybody this last year.”
New threads
The Celtics unveiled their 2020-21 Earned Edition uniform, designed exclusively for the 16 teams that qualified for the 2020 NBA Playoffs.
This uniform set, which will first be worn on March 19 vs. Sacramento, marks the team’s fifth and final combination for the 2020-21 season.
The Earned Edition uniform carries over a series of notable components from various uniforms throughout the team’s collection, including the traditional “Celtics” wordmark, standard shamrock on the belt buckle, and the Vistaprint jersey patch on the left shoulder. It also features an enhanced version of the franchise’s iconic color scheme. Three separate shades of green are projected through the uniform body and trim, marking the first time the team has ever featured three shades of green on a single uniform.