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Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart Can’t Stay Healthy

By Joshua Bateman

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After having arguably the best game of his career against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Marcus Smart has entered one of the worst shooting slumps of his season. Just as Smart showed some of his potential on the offensive end, he regressed with his outside shot and now the Boston Celtics may have to wait even longer before seeing those kind of offensive contributions again.

The biggest thing about Smart is even in those games when he was struggling, he remained one of the top players on the team. Jae Crowder may be the only player that has a larger defensive impact as his ferocious and relentless activity has tormented opposing guards all season long. Now, the Celtics are going to have to play at least one game without Smart.

The details remain unknown but Smart left the Nets game with a bruised knee while the results of his MRI are awaited. The good news is that the Nets are a game that the Celtics can afford to be without Smart and with how phenomenal Avery Bradley has been off the bench they should be able to hold their own.

While no player on the Celtics brings the kind of defense that Smart has to offer, Bradley has established himself as one of the best defenders in the league and R.J Hunter has done a solid job on both ends in limited minutes off the bench.

Nov 4, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Rodney Stuckey (2) is tied up by Boston Celtics guard R.J. Hunter (28) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Boston 100-98. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

It is already known that Smart is not joining the Celtics on their trip to Brooklyn but what happens after that remains unknown. Smart has dealt with minor injuries already this season and expect the Celtics to treat this one the same way, cautiously. There is no sense in rushing Smart back into the lineup when they have the necessary guard depth to get by.

Smart is yet to shake the injury bug in his young career and anything that involves the knee is worrisome. The Celtics need to make sure that Smart is fully recovered before he gets back into the lineup. The largest concern with Smart is always going to be long term and the Celtics will do nothing to risk the brightest part of their future.

Avery Bradley should be inserted back into the starting lineup and this will also give Evan Turner an increased role, if he avoids missing time with an injury himself. When the Celtics were dealing with injuries to Smart and Bradley earlier on, Turner was the player to step up. In fact, those were the games where Turner played his best.

The Celtics have relied heavily on the second unit and if both Thomas and Bradley are in the starting unit they are going to need someone to step up with the second unit. With his experience running Stevens’ offense, having the extra depth with Turner is a great luxury for the team. Unfortunately, Turner also had his knee checked out in the hospital after the game. The Celtics have already survived a stint without Smart and Bradley and now they may have to survive a stint without Smart and Turner.

R.J Hunter may then be given a lot more responsibility. The Celtics need their second unit to provide a scoring boost and if Smart and Turner are both out then Hunter is going to be the top guard option off the bench. The Celtics will look to run their offense through another position but Hunter will have an opportunity to go on the best run of his young career.

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There has been no firm news with a concrete timetable for Smart’s injury and with bruised knee being all the information available there can be cautious optimism. There are no indications that Smart’s injury is serious in any capacity but given his history and his importance the Celtics need to take every precaution before inserting him back into the starting lineup.

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