Boston Celtics veteran guard Marcus Smart has made it a habit of bouncing back quickly from minor injuries throughout his career.
But that hasn't been the case with the right ankle sprain Smart is currently dealing with.
It's been striking to see Smart take an extended period of time to recover from the injury as he missed his ninth consecutive game Friday. But Smart has slowly got back on the court, and Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla believes the ninth-year pro is "progressing relatively good."
It's an encouraging sign that makes it seem that Smart isn't far away from returning, a sentiment Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens shared as well.
"The latest that I've heard is Marcus is feeling a lot better. He's been out on the court," Stevens told reporters prior to the game against the Charlotte Hornets, per CLNS Media. "I haven't talked to (executive director of performance) Phil Coles today about what exactly the next step is. But he's got a little bit of pain in that same ankle that he sprained last year and re-aggravated in the fall. But he looks like he's getting a lot closer to me when he's on the court."
It's unclear what Smart, who is averaging 11.1 points and a career-high 7.2 assists per game this season, has been able to do on the court as Mazzulla said the reigning Defensive Player of the Year worked on his "range of motion" and "change of direction" on Friday.
But Mazzulla still doesn't know a timetable for Smart's return, and that's by design.
"I purposely don't want to know so I don't have to lie to you guys," Mazzulla told reporters before facing the Hornets, per NBC Sports Boston. "I have no idea."
