Smart questionable for Game 1
Suffered mid-foot sprain in Sunday's clinching victory
Celtics guard Marcus Smart is questionable for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals with a midfoot sprain.
According to ESPN, Smart underwent an MRI and the imaging returned clean, giving the team hope he can start Tuesday night in Miami. Smart played 37 minutes in Sunday’s Game 7 triumph over Milwaukee, notching 11 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. He also took a hard fall in the first quarter that caused him to linger on the floor for a few moments before returning to play.
Earlier in the series, Smart dealt with a deep thigh contusion that ruled him out for Game 2. Celtics coach Ime Udoka described his veteran point guard as “pretty tender and sore” on Monday, while adding Smart will receive aroundthe- clock treatment as the team’ flies to South Florida.
Tuesday’s tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. at FTX Arena.
In three games against the Heat this season, Smart averaged 11.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists. He also shot 36.7% from the field and committed 10 turnovers, while the Celtics went 2-1. Smart’s counterpart, Heat point guard Kyle Lowry, did not practice Sunday and is reportedly unlikely to play in Game 1 with a left hamstring strain.
Lowry missed the final two games of Miami’s second-round series against the Sixers. The 36-year-old has endured a miserable postseason, struggling to produce 6.2 points, 5.2 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game over five outings.
Meanwhile, Smart ranks third for Boston in postseason scoring, averaging 15 points, and first in assists with 6.2 per game.
Williams all clear for Game 1
Celtics center Robert Williams has been cleared to play in Game 1 without a minutes restriction, Udoka announced Monday.
Udoka said Williams was available for Sunday’s Game 7, but opted not to play the 24-year-old, who’s been battling a bone bruise on his left knee that caused him to miss four straight games. Williams also dealt with significant pain and restricted flexibility. But now, with Boston tired from a stretch of five playoff games in nine nights, Williams should provide a nice boost against the No. 1 seed in the East.
“It’s a little bit different starting a new series as opposed to getting injected into a Game 7 or Game 6 or whatever, as was the case was before,” Udoka said. “But he’s available, looking better every day and getting more confident in that.”
Without Williams, forwards Al Horford and Grant Williams backboned Boston’s defense against the Bucks. Both took the lead in guarding Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo and provided decent rim protection. Until his injury, Williams had been amplifying Horford’s rim protection as a springy help defender on the wing who could jump in and swat paint attacks at any moment.
Now Horford, like the rest of the Celtics, is eager to reunite with his backline teammate.
“We know he really wanted to be out there when we was supporting us from the bench. And our biggest thing with Rob is — or any of our players — is we want guys to be healthy and to feel well,” Horford said Monday. “And we’re hoping he’s able to be back for this series. He does so much for our group.”
Udoka, Spoelstra go way back
As coaches, it will be Ime Udoka’s and Erik Spoelstra’s duty to scout one another as deeply as possible heading into the Eastern Conference Finals.
Good thing they’ve each had a decades-long head start.
In 2013 and 2014, Spoelstra’s Heat split two Finals battles with the Spurs, whom Udoka worked for as an assistant coach from 2012-19. Before that, Udoka, a native of Portland, Oregon, watched Spoelstra play college ball in his backyard.
“I watched (Spoelstra) growing up at the University of Portland, him and Damon Stoudamire playing Pro-am games in the summer. So I watched him since I was a kid,” Udoka said Monday. “He was high school teammates with Damon’s cousin, so I know all about Erik.”
Udoka also called Spoelstra one of the NBA’S best coaches and lauded the work he’s done with Miami’s defense, annually one of the stingiest in the NBA.
“They do have a lot of wrinkles that they’ll throw,” Udoka said. “(It’s) a really well-coached team that’s not gong to beat themselves and is playing at a high level defensively that can mix it up, as well.”
In Miami, Spoelstra returned those compliments when talking with reporters and noted several similarities between the two teams, starting with their elite defenses.
“This is like a throwback series. If both teams are really on top of their games, this should be a series where neither team is scoring 130 points,” Spoelstra said. “Both teams hang their hats on rock-solid team defense, and making multiple efforts and being disciplined to schemes. So it will be a lot of plays and things in the margins. That’s what you expect.
“Really, we were the two best teams in the East most of the season and it’s fitting that we’re moving into the conference finals.”