Not hand injuries. Not a blow to the face.
Not even getting hit hard enough on the same obliques an injury to kept Marcus Smart out of action for some time last season was enough to force the Flower Mound native to sit out a game.
Ironically, the thing that finally convinced the defensive warrior to take the night off was illness, which will see the Texan miss his first game of the 2019-20 season, a home tilt against the Miami Heat.
It’s likely much-needed, as there was considerable doubt Smart would be available after the hit to his obliques, which occured in Sunday’s come-from-behind win against the New York Knicks.
According to head coach Brad Stevens, Smart was feeling unwell for some time, only to see it increase today, reports NBC Boston’s Chris Forsberg.
Swingman Jayson Tatum expressed concern for his teammate, alluding to the Oklahoma State’s propensity to play in games most would elect to rest, per Boston.com. “It got to be pretty bad if he’s not going to be able to play.”
With a rematch with the Denver Nuggets at TD Garden looming on Friday, Dec. 6 it seems unlikely Boston will win without Smart’s Defensive-Player-of-the-Year caliber performances on that end of the court.
But with illness forcing rest on the 6-foot-3 guard whether he likes it or not, there’s a good chance the Texan will have recovered enough to have a shot at suiting up, and hopefully, giving the Celtics a chance at revenge for good measure.
