Celtics hope for good news after Marcus Smart suffers calf strain, will get MRI on Sunday
Smart went down grabbing his left calf in Saturday's loss to the Lakers.
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart went to the floor yelling an expletive in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game between the Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers clutching his left calf.
After taking a weird step as Montrezl Harrell put back a layup, Smart fell to the ground in obvious pain. He was helped to the locker room without putting any weight on his leg, and shortly afterward, the Celtics tweeted out that Smart suffered a calf strain.
Here’s the clip of Smart’s injury — looked to grab the calf area. pic.twitter.com/u549yMrq37
— Chris Grenham (@chrisgrenham) January 31, 2021
After the Celtics’ 96-95 loss, Stevens didn’t have much of an update, other than that more information will be available tomorrow.
Jaylen Brown said the Celtics struggled to get back into a rhythm after Smart left the game.
“Everybody was concerned with his health,” Brown said. “And just trying to do our best to redirect that energy, because when one guy goes down, we’ve got to step up. Marcus is essential to our team man, he’s been great.
“Whether the numbers show it or not, Marcus has been a leader on this team. He’s been somebody that has been looking to get guys the ball in the right spots, including me. So to have him go down in the middle of the game like that definitely had everybody concerned. Hopefully the MRI is negative, and we get him and we can get some wins on the road.”
Smart has played an important role for the Celtics this season in Kemba Walker’s absence as a facilitator and occasionally as a scorer, and he’s the team’s best defender.
“Smart, he’s been playing great, especially as of late playmaking-wise,” Jayson Tatum said last week. “Just knowing that especially if Kemba’s out, he’s the lead guard, making sure we’re in the right spots, getting guys involved.”
Earlier this season, however, Brown summed up Smart’s importance even off the floor.
“Marcus Smart is the heart and soul of this team,” Brown said. “His energy and his poise on the offensive end have been great for us. We’ve asked him to step up and play the point guard position and he’s matched that. He’s got me easy baskets, he’s gotten Jayson easy baskets and he’s gotten himself baskets as well. I’m proud to see Marcus Smart‘s growth and the responsibility that he’s gotten, he’s handled it well in the first seven games.”
Get Boston.com's browser alerts:
Enable breaking news notifications straight to your internet browser.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com