Boston Celtics' Marcus Smart out for six weeks with torn oblique
Thursday 11 April 2019 07:04, UK
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart will miss four to six weeks of basketball with a torn left oblique, the team announced on Wednesday.
That will likely keep Smart out of the first two rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Smart averaged 8.9 points, four assists and 2.9 rebounds this season for the Celtics, who will be the fourth seed in the East postseason after posting a 49-33 regular-season record.
Boston will open at home this weekend against the fifth-seeded Indiana Pacers.
The physical guard is noted as one of the NBA's top defenders.
Smart sustained the injury in a game against the Orlando Magic on Sunday, and he did not play on Tuesday at the Washington Wizards.
The Boston Globe reported that Smart was in too much pain to undergo an MRI exam on Tuesday, with a Wednesday test confirming the injury.
The 25-year-old Oklahoma State product started 60 of his 80 games this season.
