Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is questionable to play in Friday's game against the Denver Nuggets after missing the team's game against the Miami Heat:

Smart is dealing with an oblique injury after being elbowed in the abdomen area by New York Knicks wing Kevin Knox during the third quarter of Sunday's game when Knox was driving to the basket.

Fortunately for Smart and the Celtics, he seems to have avoided another serious injury after an oblique tear forced him to miss Boston's first-round playoff series last season (via Austin Kent of Slam.com):

“The only thing I heard is that it was, I don’t know if it’s his oblique, or right in that area, and they said, ‘It wasn’t as bad as in the past’,” head coach Brad Stevens told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps of the latest injury.

The guard himself shares a similar diagnosis.

“It wasn’t as bad as the tear, but it’s still sore and pretty tender. We’re just going to take it slow and day by day re-evaluate it [Monday], and see what we have to do,” he told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.

The Celtics secured a statement win over the Heat on Wednesday even without Smart in the lineup. Jaylen Brown scored 31 points, and Kemba Walker poured in 28 while adding seven assists and four rebounds.

Boston improved to 15-5 with the win, which puts them in second in the Eastern Conference (behind only the Milwaukee Bucks). They will likely be cautious with Smart given the injury history in the oblique area.