Marcus Smart is unsure if he’ll play in Celtics-Hawks Game 4
Smart suffered an apparent tailbone injury in Friday's Game 3.
The Celtics could be down a key starter when they take on the Hawks in Sunday’s Game 4.
Marcus Smart said he’s still feeling sore in his tailbone area and isn’t sure if he’ll play Sunday. However, Smart seemed a bit more optimistic about the injury when speaking to reporters on Saturday.
“It’s better than I expected it to be, to be honest,” Smart said, adding that “I’m OK relatively speaking.”
Smart took a tumble when trying to go up for a rebound in the final minutes of Friday’s Game 3 loss. When he came down from trying to grab the rebound, Smart landed right on his back, grimacing for a moment before getting back up and playing the remainder of the game.
Smart told reporters following Friday’s game that he already felt soreness in the area he landed.
Through the first three games of the series, Smart’s made noticeable contributions on both ends. He’s averaging 16.3 points and five rebounds per game and also has team highs in assists (seven per game) and steals (three per game).
Friday’s Game 3 was Smart’s best showing though, at least offensively. He scored 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field and 5-of-12 shooting from deep to go along with eight assists and three steals.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla briefly took Smart out of the game in crunch time, subbing in Malcolm Brogdon for him with 4:22 remaining and Boston trailing by five. But after a few possessions, Smart re-entered the game with 2:43 left as the Celtics trailed by two.
Smart made an impact when he checked back in for the final minutes, scoring five points on two straight possessions to help keep Boston within a possession of Atlanta’s lead. But his efforts were for naught as the Hawks ended up making clutch shots and the Celtics failed to match that in the 130-122 loss.
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