Marcus Smart is nearing a return, but he still is battling a seriously nasty eye infection.
Smart will not play Christmas Day against the Toronto Raptors, the Celtics announced Tuesday afternoon. The fiery guard has missed Boston’s last six games primarily due to the eye infection, but other ailments also have contributed to keeping Smart out of game action.
There is good news, however: Smart participated in practice Tuesday and hopes to return before the end of 2019.
Here are some updates from NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg:
Marcus Smart participated in parts of practice work but will not play in Toronto. Team is hopeful to get him on court before new year.
Gordon Hayward sounds likely to go in Toronto. Brad Stevens dubbed him probable.
Tremont Waters has been recalled; Tacko will be inactive.
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) December 24, 2019
Brad on Marcus Smart: “You can still see his eyes are still swollen, and you can see it’s still very sensitive. .. We had film on that big screen over there, you could see him, he’s had two straight weeks of really tough stuff with his eyes.”
Targeting return before new year.
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) December 24, 2019
Smart took to Twitter on Monday to express his desire to return to the court.
Take a look:
Good to get back to practice today w the team. Been a tough 👀 scary 3 weeks. All i wanted for Christmas we already getttin- wins w everyone involved! And props to this dude… https://t.co/dSxLVLNqr5
— marcus smart (@smart_MS3) December 24, 2019
In other Celtics-related news, Gordon Hayward, who has been battling a sore left foot, is probable against the Raptors. And while that’s a positive development for Hayward and the Celtics, there is much to be concerned about with the star forward’s mysterious foot issue.
As for Tremont Waters, the rookie guard impressed in his lone NBA game earlier this season. Whether he’ll see the court Wednesday afternoon remains to be seen, but the LSU product nevertheless is a player Celtics fans should be excited about.
