BOSTON — When the Celtics played the Oklahoma City Thunder back on Nov. 15, Marcus Smart drilled five 3-pointers en route to an impressive 100-85 win.
Wednesday night was a much different story, as well as a continuation of what’s been an unsettling trend for the Celtics shooting guard.
Smart went 1 for 10 from the floor and 0 for 4 from 3-point range in Boston’s 130-109 loss to the Thunder at TD Garden. Smart’s failure to find his shot wasn’t an aberration, particularly in the month of March. The 22-year-old has shot just 17.2 percent (8 for 48) from deep in seven games this month and has made just one of his last 16 threes.
That’s a complete 180 from the second-year guard’s January hot stretch, in which he shot 46 percent from distance over a five-game span after putting in some extra work on a rare “snow day.”
It’s too bad this winter has been a mild one in Boston, because the Celtics could use another snow day if it means more 3-pointers from Smart. Boston’s outside game has suffered severely in Jae Crowder’s absence, as the C’s have shot under 30 percent from 3-point range in their last three games, all losses.
“Especially if you’re going to (have) small (lineups), you have to make shots,” head coach Brad Stevens said. “It’s the way it goes. We trust (Smart) to shoot those, and whether it’s the last game we played against them where he hit five (3-pointers) or this game where he struggles to make them, you have to live with that and you have to make up for it in other areas.”
Click for the Celtics-Thunder Wrap >>
Let’s hit a few other notes from Celtics-Thunder:
— The Celtics will have their work cut out for them if they want to regain their lofty position in the Eastern Conference.
With the Miami Heat idle and the Atlanta Hawks winning Wednesday, the C’s dropped down two spots to the No. 5 seed in the crowded East. They’re just a half game ahead of the No. 6 Charlotte Hornets and play two of their next four games against the No. 2 seed Toronto Raptors.
“Well, I think there’s only a couple ways you respond, right?” Stevens said. “You either lay down, or you compete like no tomorrow. And so, you compete like no tomorrow. We’ve got 14 more opportunities to do that, so we’ll see.”
— Thunder coach Billy Donovan played his college basketball under Rick Pitino at Providence College, and with the Friars in the NCAA Tournament as the East region’s No. 9 seed, he decided to show his alma mater a little love before Wednesday’s game.
“I’m happy for them,” Donovan said. “(Providence coach) Ed Cooley, he and I shared a summer or two ago together at USA (Basketball), and he’s done a great job. I love him to death. He’s a great guy. He and my sister went to college together, so I’ve known Ed for a long time, and I’m happy they’re still playing basketball.”
— The Celtics got a welcome sight when Kelly Olynyk returned to action for the first time since he separated his right shoulder on Feb. 10. Olynyk clearly had some rust, though, going just 1 for 7 from the floor for eight points. The 24-year-old logged 22 minutes of playing time, as Stevens put him back into the game during garbage time in the fourth quarter.
“He looked like a guy that hadn’t played in five and a half weeks,” Stevens said of Olynyk. “Which is to be expected, which is why we put him back in at the end of the game. You know, the more minutes the better.”
— Crowder gave a positive update on his sprained right ankle while addressing the media for the first time since suffering the injury in Friday’s loss to the Houston Rockets.
“I don’t really know the timetable,” the Celtics forward said before the game. “I feel like I’m moving ahead. I’m moving along very well. We’ve got the swelling out of it for the most part. There’s still a little swelling, but I feel like I’m moving faster than what we thought with the swelling going down as soon as possible.”
Crowder was expected to miss at least two weeks, but the team obviously would love him back as soon as possible as it heads down the stretch. The hard part for the 25-year-old swingman, however, will be refraining from coming back too early and risking re-injury.
“I’m going through, like — I’m telling myself I’m good, but (the trainers are)Â telling me I’m not,” Crowder said. “I just feel very sore. And I feel like, I’m close to being able to return, but we’re going to take all precautions, take our time with it, but I’m going to keep doing my part and working out and being ready to go.”
— The Celtics also were without Jonas Jerebko, who was a late scratch from Wednesday’s game with a sore left ankle.
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
