Boston Celtics: Relief as Marcus Smart’s injury is diagnosed as a calf strain

Marcus Smart left the Boston Celtics’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday after suffering a non-contact leg injury early on in the fourth quarter. It certainly looked like an injury worth worrying over as there seemed to be a ‘popping’ as his left leg extended backward on the court.

These were unquestionably worrying times for Boston fans as every one of the Celtics faithful will tell you how important Smart is to this basketball team.

Thankfully, positive news broke Sunday afternoon, as Smart’s injury was diagnosed as a Grade 1 calf strain in his left leg. Shams Charania, of The Athletic, reported the news:

Positive news broke for the Boston Celtics today as Marcus Smarts’ non-contact leg injury suffered against LA was diagnosed as a calf strain.

This is excellent news as we all know how drastic some leg injuries can be and how long and strenuous recovery times can be for those who endure them. Smart will miss time, but as it’s a Grade one strain, this will likely be just one to two weeks, which is extremely relieving news. Obviously, we hope any injury, no matter the magnitude, can be avoided at all costs, but, for the Celtics right now, this would’ve been a tremendous loss.

After starting the season without Kemba Walker and losing Jayson Tatum for a number of games due to COVID related reasons, the Celtics haven’t been able to catch a break yet this season. They’ve had games suspended with half the team having to isolate, but now they’re looking like they’re on the path to being their complete selves, and there is no way that you can have a complete Celtics team without Marcus Smart at the wheel.

Wednesday’s matchup with the San Antonio Spurs was the Celtics’ first game this season where they had all their weapons at their disposal (bar rookie sensation Payton Pritchard, who’s recovering from a Grade one MCL sprain and should return sometime in February). The fact that they haven’t been at full strength through the first quarter of the season has left the Celtics as a very inconsistent team.

They haven’t been the elite defensive team they were last season, and they haven’t been efficient on the offensive end. The effort just hasn’t been there on a consistent basis, and having Smart at your disposal will be the benchmark for this kind of thing. He’s the catalyst when you’re talking about setting the tone on defense and bringing that energy in transition, and that’s why he’s so important to the Celtics as a contending team.

Smart will likely miss Boston’s upcoming Westcoast trip, which will include matchups with the Warriors, Kings, Clippers, Suns and Jazz before returning back east. This will prove to be an even trickier run of games for the Celtics than they were already going to be. They’ll play these five games over an eight-day stretch and will be missing both Smart and Pritchard, leaving a significant load to be picked up by other guys.

Kemba will remain limited but will have a lot more to do in his minutes during this trip. There will be a lot of responsibility given to veteran point guard Jeff Teague, who has had some ineffective outings of late. This will be his chance for the former All-Star to make a mark for the Celtics.

All-in-all, this is very welcomed news regarding Smart. The Celtics could definitely not afford to lose him. He’s just such a valuable player to this team. This will give the Celtics the chance to get their bench players more involved and get up to speed. The Celtics currently have a 10-8 record, which isn’t something to be too upset about by all means.

It’s been a bit of a rough start for Boston, but things are starting to look up now and will look up even more when Smart returns to the floor in a couple of weeks time. This team has the time to make adjustments ready for another run down the line.