Marcus Smart will undergo surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb on Friday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. It appears he’ll miss the rest of the season, but the Boston Celtics hope he’ll be able to return at some point in the postseason.
Marcus Smart is reportedly out until at least the playoffs, which is a sneaky big loss
Smart suffered the ligament tear in his thumb last weekend while diving to the floor.
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Celtics head coach Brad Stevens raised this as a possibility Wednesday, but said Smart was still evaluating his options. Smart injured his thumb diving to the floor in the first half of a game against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. While he returned to that game and even finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists, damage was found when the injury was later examined.
“[Smart will] go talk to another doc about what his chances are of playing without further injury, and also if he needs surgery or not, and what the recovery time would be,” Stevens said before Wednesday’s game. “After all that information is gathered, he’ll make a decision [next week], along with all of us, about the rest of the year.”
This is Smart’s second injury to his right hand this season. He had missed the 11 games leading into the all-star break after punching a wall in his Boston hotel room out of frustration, slicing it open and requiring 20 stitches. But as far as we know, there’s no correlation between his cut hand and the now-sprained thumb.
Smart is a crucial cog for Boston
Between his defense, unabashed shot-taking, and generally infectious hustle, Smart is a plus for the Celtics. His 48 percent True Shooting Percentage is, well, hideous, but Smart is a strange player who everyone around Boston’s organization will insist still creates a positive impact while on the court. Many attributed Boston’s defensive drop before the all-star break to his absence.
The absence is softened by Terry Rozier’s strong play as a backup point guard that has allowed him to even play some two-guard, where Smart usually fills in. Still, while Boston can likely survive a first-round matchup with Smart, they will want to be fully healthy headed into a second round where they could be facing the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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