Marcus Smart isn’t foolish enough to rush back this time.
The Boston Celtics guard issued an update on his recovery from an oblique injury, telling The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach on Friday he’s progressing nicely but still isn’t close to return to the team’s rotation.
“I’m still very ecstatic with the progress that I made,” Smart said. “I’m obviously nowhere near coming back, but to be able to get back on the court, get some shots up, and be able to do a (few) more things actively is great progress for me.”
Smart suffered the injury April 7 in the Celtics’ penultimate regular-season game. His original recovery prognosis was four-to-six weeks, ruling him out for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Smart revealed Tuesday how painful the injury has been for him and expanded on the topic when speaking to Himmelsbach.
“We’re just trying to get me back to doing everyday life stuff,” Smart said. “That was our main goal. Like, being able to breathe normally, being able to walk normally without excruciating pain. We’re ahead of schedule, and the progress we’re making, we’re pleased with it.”
Smart has played through pain several times, but this injury is different from most he has endured before. He apparently must resist the urge to rejoin his teammates in their first- or second-round series in order to have any chance of being an impact player in the latter rounds of the postseason.
