Celtic guard Marcus Smart is officially set to return after a private workout with the team, reported by A. Sherrod Blakely.
According to league sources, #Celtics Marcus Smart was back in town yesterday and had a private workout with the team. He has been officially cleared to practice tonight and play Friday.
— A. Sherrod Blakely (@ASherrodblakely) February 21, 2018
The 6-foot-4 point guard has missed some time recently due to a self-inflicted injury that occurred after punching a picture frame in a hotel.
This act was reportedly due to only the anger Smart felt when he missed a game-winner in a 107-108 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Off the court had nothing to do with it which a lot of people probably think it was but it wasn’t,” Smart said.
His absence was most certainly felt, as Boston had an ugly stretch of going 6-5, which featured multiple blowouts against the Celtics and season-highs in points allowed. Even though Smart struggles offensively, the energy, toughness, and mentality that he has on the court is vital to what made the C’s a top team defensively early in the season. With him sidelined, the second unit and entire team in general struggled more than ever.
The Celtics have a -6.5 net rating in February (24th in league). How concerning is that? A few "tanking" teams (Dallas, Atlanta, Orlando) have higher net ratings than them over that stretch.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) February 15, 2018
Now, the 23-year-old is set to return on Friday against the Detroit Pistons which will be Boston’s first game post-All-Star break. After Boston’s final game prior to the All-Star break, head coach Brad Stevens noted that there will be some rotational changes to fix the slump that we have seen as of late.
A huge part of these changes will be Smart’s return, which has some people thinking that he may be inserted into the starting lineup in order to allow Jayson Tatum to come off the bench where he should thrive in terms of scoring against other second units across the league.
To see the Oklahoma State University product back on the parquet, catch Boston’s next matchup in Detroit on Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. EST.
