Celtics’ Marcus Smart Dislocates Two Fingers, Calls It ‘A Minor Setback’

UPDATE (1 a.m. ET): Marcus Smart might have dodged a bullet. The Boston Celtics guard downplayed his injury via Twitter late Thursday night.

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The Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett also reports Smart’s injury doesn’t look to bad.

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ORIGINAL STORY: It’s the last thing any Boston Celtics fan wants to hear: Marcus Smart dislocated the middle and index fingers on his right hand Thursday in the team’s 91-85 Summer League win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Smart suffered the injury to his shooting hand early in the second quarter while chasing a loose ball and tripping over a Portland player. He left the court in obvious pain and did not return to the game.

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It looked like Smart snapped his wrist, but those two fingers appeared to take the brunt of the blow. A closer look at the play shows the gruesome-looking injury.

Warning: The following image contains graphic material.

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The entire sequence is eerily similar to Rajon Rondo’s hand injury last season, when Celtics coaches raved about Rondo’s improvements returning from an ACL injury before the point guard broke his hand near the beginning of training camp.

Smart had looked terrific early on in the win, scoring seven points in just under nine minutes before suffering the injury. His improved ability to drive to the basket as well as making contested 3-pointers have generated a lot of buzz, despite coming in Summer League action.

The second-year guard was able to return to the bench before the end of the game, but appeared to have his hand wrapped in ice while cheering on his teammates. He is projected to be Boston’s starting point guard next season.

Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@SInow