Fans around Boston got some troubling news on Monday when the team announced that Marcus Smart would be out indefinitely with a hand injury. Initially, there were differing reports about the nature and severity of the injury, as well as how long Smart might be sidelined because of it.
Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported that Smart had a torn tendon in his right thumb, while former colleague and current ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski indicated that the team was calling it a “sprain” and was currently in the process of obtaining a second opinion and deciding whether Smart might be able to play through the pain.
Just a day later, it now appears that the remainder of Smart’s season could be in jeopardy, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald who tweeted Tuesday that the organization was waiting on the results of a second opinion from doctors and that there is apparently some concern that he may not return at all this year.
League source says Celtics don't know probability of Marcus Smart playing again this season. "(They're) waiting for that second opinion. Don't know if it's a 50 percent chance or a 30 percent chance. Just don't know."
— Mark Murphy (@Murf56) March 13, 2018
NBA.com’s David Aldridge reported earlier in the day that Smart was in New York to visit a hand specialist to determine the severity of the injury and whether it could require surgery, which one would think would be what would prohibit him from returning this season.
@smart_MS3 in the process of setting up visit with hand specialist in New York to check severity of injury, per source.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) March 13, 2018
Smart missed 11 games earlier this year after injuring the same hand punching a picture frame at his hotel room. The Celtics guard suffered a laceration from that incident that reportedly almost severed the tendons in his hand, which would’ve led to season-ending surgery.
Injury issues have been piling up for the Celtics of late, with Kyrie Irving battling a shaky knee and Jaylen Brown currently in the league-mandated concussion protocol after a scary fall following a dunk against the Timberwolves last week. Boston has also lost backup center Daniel Theis for the season with a knee injury of his own.
If Smart – the team’s best perimeter defender – is unable to return for the postseason, it will severely affect their chances of making a run at the Eastern Conference crown, particularly with the surging Raptors taking control of late.
