Marcus Smart took it hard upon himself after missing the vast part of two weeks with a self-inflicted hand injury, lacerating it after punching a picture in his hotel room — an action that would later have grim consequences.
After missing a game for undisclosed reasons, the Boston Celtics came forward with a statement, explaining his absence and a consequent two-week absence for him to fully heal from the cut.
Yet Smart hasn't hurt only himself, but his team, which has seen a dip in the defensive department amid his absence.
“I’ve been on myself pretty bad,”Smart said, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. “Especially when I have to just sit back there and watch those guys struggle — and there’s nothing I can do. But we’ve got the break coming up. We’ve got to come back and be ready.”
While the Celtics managed to make due through his absence, they have now lost three straight games and four of the last five, now finding themselves two games behind the leader Toronto Raptors, unable to keep up their excellent run through the first half of the season.
“Man, it’s been real tough just as a competitor,” he said. “And I have to sit there and watch it, and there’s nothing I can do to help my team. It’s tough, but regardless of that, we’ve still got to figure out a way to fix it and win games. In the NBA, guys are going to get hurt and guys are going to be missing games, and you’ve just got to find a way to win.”
Smart should be fine to return after the All-Star break, where he'll have to step up yet again to compensate for his two-week absence and help propel this Celtics team back to the top spot, where they sat for the majority of this NBA season.
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