{"id":894643,"date":"2019-04-11T08:34:55","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T13:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/?p=894643"},"modified":"2022-01-08T12:47:09","modified_gmt":"2022-01-08T16:47:09","slug":"your-morning-dump-where-the-celtics-will-have-to-look-elsewhere-for-winning-plays-to-start-the-playoffs-r1a1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/your-morning-dump-where-the-celtics-will-have-to-look-elsewhere-for-winning-plays-to-start-the-playoffs-r1a1\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Morning Dump… Where the celtics will have to look elsewhere for “winning plays” to start the playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here\u2026 highlighting the big storyline. Because there\u2019s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.<\/em><\/p>\n

Forty seconds.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how long it took before Marcus Smart launched himself on the floor in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks last year. Smart was playing his first game in six weeks after tearing a ligament in his right hand but, with little more than a protective wrap, he dove on the hard parquet in pursuit of a loose ball.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the perfect summation of Smart.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s exactly what the Celtics will miss after\u00a0an MRI on Wednesday revealed that Smart will be out four to six weeks<\/a>\u00a0with what the team termed a partial avulsion of his left oblique abdominal muscle off of his iliac crest.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an injury that\u2019s rare to NBA players, according to sources, which makes the return-to-action timeline a bit murkier.<\/p>\n

The Celtics were holding out hope that Smart might recover in time for a return in Round 2 of the postseason, according to league sources, but even a four-week recovery would leave him returning to basketball activities in early May. The conference finals are scheduled to start May 14-15.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

NBCSports Boston —\u00a0<\/strong>Celtics lose more than defense with Smart’s absence<\/a><\/p>\n

Injuries to key players in the post-season can strike any team in the league, but they sure seem to strike with unrivaled frequency here in Boston. KG in 2009, Perk in a crucial spot in 2010, Rajon Rondo in 2011 (thanks for the memories, Dwyane), Isaiah Thomas in 2017 (though it probably didn’t matter against that Cavs juggernaut), Kyrie Irving last season and now Marcus as we sit three days from the start of this Celtics’ post-season run.<\/p>\n

What’s wild is that this one was oh so freaking avoidable. From Jay King at The Athletic<\/em>:<\/p>\n

The seriousness of Smart\u2019s injury highlights Boston\u2019s lack of caution. For weeks, the Celtics had stressed they intended to prioritize health down the stretch. Yet in a mostly meaningless game against the Orlando Magic, after they had already wrapped up home-court advantage in the first round, they allowed Smart to re-enter after a collision with Nikola Vucevic left him in obvious pain.<\/span><\/p>\n

After a timeout was called, Smart limped over to the Celtics bench, where he was examined by trainer Art Horne. The two chatted throughout the timeout and Smart, according to coach Brad Stevens, argued he felt healthy enough to continue playing. The guard was permitted to stay in the lineup. After returning to the court, Smart could tell something wasn\u2019t right. While retreating on defense, he experienced enough pain to call for a sub. He limped, then crumbled to the floor, clutching at his hip region as he did it.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hindsight is 20\/20, and this whole decision to play the starters against Orlando has already been covered in the last couple of days, so let’s move beyond that and talk about what’s in front of us.<\/p>\n

There will probably be long stretches of games here in the first round where the loss of Smart isn’t quite that noticeable. For as much of a struggle as the season has been, the Celtics are, indeed, still quite deep. They can still win without Marcus. And for as much as Terry Rozier has complained (especially lately) about how much the season has sucked for him, here’s his chance to recapture some Scary Terry magic. Maybe he does and keeps things humming in Smart’s absence.<\/p>\n

But be it in this series or early in the next one, there’s going to be a stretch where things start going off the rails, and the Celtics need a big play to get back on them. Or, there’s going to be a crunch-time sequence where a stop, or a steal or a hustle play is needed. The rest of the roster isn’t a bunch of no-effort softies, but there’s only one guy you can rely on to make that play or get that stop with regularity, and that’s Smart.<\/p>\n

One interesting nugget from Forsberg referenced above is that not much is known about the type of oblique injury that Smart obtained as it relates to the NBA. That, plus Smart’s toughness led Adam Himmelsbach to tweet this:<\/p>\n

\n

Have been hearing that despite the 4-6 week timetable on the Celtics' press release, the belief is that it's a 3-5 week injury for Marcus Smart.<\/p>\n

— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) April 11, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n