Smart’s emphatic of return vs. Bulls
His left ankle sprain sufficiently healed, Marcus Smart not only ran through a full practice yesterday but pronounced himself fit for tomorrow’s Garden rematch against the Bulls.
“I will be playing Wednesday,” the Celtics guard said. “So it feels good to be back out here with those guys. The ankle was great. I can say it now, unlike last year about this time when I was hurt and coming back. We’re just kind of going day by day with how I feel. I think that’s how we’re going to play it. The better I feel, the more minutes I’ll play.”
And the better, presumably, the Celtics will play against the Bulls after last Thursday’s narrow loss in Chicago.
“He’s one of our returning, most contributive players, so he’s a big addition to our team. Looked good today and we’ll see how he feels the next couple days, but every indication is that he’ll be available,” said coach Brad Stevens who will listen closely to the training staff regarding Smart’s minutes.
“I go with whatever the trainers say in that regard, with regard to how much to play him or whatever the case may be,” said Stevens. “Marcus and the trainers will have that discussion and then I just follow suit. If given the full go-ahead, I’d say just play it like he normally would play it. But it’s also going to be his first game and everything else, so we’ll see.”
And Smart, naturally, plans to go all out.
“Sure, that’s how he’s really good. I think that’s part of it,” said Stevens. “What happened, the way that he twisted his ankle was he stepped on somebody’s foot. That happens. We feed off of his being full bore.”
In that respect, the nature of practice inevitably changed yesterday, with Smart directly responsible for the increase in volume.
“Kind of loud today. We have a big week ahead of us,” said Terry Rozier. “(Smart) was on the first unit today, the Green team. He looked like he hadn’t lost a step. He was out there playing hard.”
And Smart resumed making practice difficult for his teammates.
“You get to test yourself mentally and physically. It’s not going to be easy, but he’s going to make you better every day,” said Rozier, who also talked about the benefit from playing with Smart, “Then I can play off the ball sometimes. He can bring the ball up sometimes, and I can catch a break. It’s great to play alongside a guy like that, because we’re going to make it tough for the opponent.”
Smart also increased his activity during the team’s two-game road trip by working out with a relative.
“It was huge. Just my cousin and I were in here two times a day, seven days a week,” he said. “So on the road I wouldn’t be able to do that because they have to tend to those guys who were playing. Here all the attention was on me to make sure I was coming back healthy.”
Olynyk revs up
Though roughly two weeks away from returning from right shoulder surgery, Kelly Olynyk also ran through practice with encouraging results.
“I thought Kelly looked fine. He didn’t have any restrictions, with regard to how much he practiced,” said Stevens. “He hasn’t gotten a full practice in since last Tuesday because we haven’t practiced. But this is all about how he feels tomorrow. And then next day, and just making sure that shoulder recovers after each of these sessions.
“But he’s on scheduled for a return at some point soon. Most likely not this week.”
Stevens added that Olynyk’s jump shot, a key element that the Celtics bench has truly missed, looked “fine.”
Rozier settles in
Rozier has a simple goal, now that his playing time has increased.
“Just trying to stay consistent, whether it’s setting up the offense, rebounding and helping the defense,” he said. “It’s not easy, but it’s something you have to do when your minutes go up from last year. If I’m playing hard, I’m never in the wrong. I can get in there and rebound. That’s all effort. I can get in there and direct somebody, that’s all effort. If I keep that up, everything else will fall in place.” . . .
The Celtics, as expected, picked up the contract options for the 2017-18 season on Rozier and Smart.
The same can’t be said for James Young, who narrowly beat out R.J. Hunter for the last roster spot. By not picking up next season’s option on Young, the shooting forward will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.