Celtics’ Marcus Smart Out Vs. Raptors; Tremont Waters Summoned From G League

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:

Smart took to Twitter on Monday to express his desire to return to the court.

Take a look:

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.

NBA scouts reportedly love Tremont Waters, want their teams to trade for rookie guard >>