For those desperately wondering how Marcus Smart is recovering from his torn oblique, the news isn’t promising.
Smart spoke today about the injury:
“When I came back in I thought I was fine, because I’ve been hit before,” he said. “When I tried to get into a defensive stance I felt something pull and that’s when I kind of knew and I started waving for coaches to come get me. And the more steps I took I could feel something stabbing me until I couldn’t move anymore, and that’s when I dropped to the ground. It was real painful and I don’t wish it upon nobody.”
It’s been nine days since then. Nine days of nearly every movement around the house, things that we take for granted every day, being a painful chore.
“Today was my first day being able to walk without grimacing in any pain,” Smart said. “It still hurts real bad to laugh, cough or sneeze. But the every day stuff is getting better walking, getting out of bed and things like that. So making great progress, but unfortunately there’s nothing really anybody can do.”
Not good. Smart’s one week into a 4-6 week recovery process.
Marcus added that it’s stressful not being able to contribute in the playoffs, but that his teammates have been extra supportive. Kyrie Irving knows the feeling:
“It sucks being hurt in the playoffs,” Irving said. “I’ve been hurt, so as much as you want to stay connected to the team and stay engaged, you’re dealing with an injury at the same time. You’re not getting a chance to play the game that you love, so having that taken away from me, I can understand how hard it is. I just try to be as inclusive as possible. I know how hard it is mentally going home, and this is around the time where everybody’s watching. You want to play your best basketball.”
The conference semifinals won’t begin before April 27-28 which would put Smart 3+ weeks into his recovery.
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