Marcus Smart is ready to put his body on the line again.
The Boston Celtics listed the guard as questionable on their injury report Thursday, leaving plenty of doubt over whether he’ll miss a second consecutive game. Smart is recovering from illness and an oblique injury he suffered last Sunday during Boston’s win over the New York Knicks.
#NEBHInjuryReport for tomorrow vs Denver:
Gordon Hayward (left hand fracture) – OUT
Romeo Langford (right ankle sprain) – OUT
Marcus Smart (abdomen contusion) – QUESTIONABLE— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 5, 2019
However, the ensuing hours brought better news for the Celtics, as Smart participated in their morning shootaround, where head coach Brad Stevens told reporters he expects the 25-year-old to play Friday night against the Denver Nuggets at TD Garden.
“Every indication I’ve been given is that he will be (available),” Stevens said, per MassLive.com’s John Karalis. “He did everything. Nothing live … I think he’s ready to roll. It’s just a matter of pain tolerance and he felt pretty good today.”
Smart says he’s feeling “fine” ahead of the Nuggets-Celtics game.
“The oblique is fine. It held up well, really well,” Smart said. “I’m proud of the results, they’re proud.”
Smart is averaging 11.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists this season.
His availability will boost the 15-5 Celtics’ prospects of beating the 14-5 Nuggets. The Celtics narrowly lost to the Nuggets 96-92 on Nov. 22 in the teams’ first meeting of the season.
