When Celtics guard Marcus Smart was diagnosed with a Grade 1 calf strain, the team said he was expected to be sidelined for 2-3 weeks. But two weeks have now passed, and when Smart spoke to the media Friday night he did not sound like a player whose return is near.
“It’s tough, just because being hurt, the whole process, it takes time,” Smart said. “As a player, as a competitor, you obviously want it to be faster, but it doesn’t happen that way. You have to listen to your body and let your body do what it does.”
Smart said there is no specific timeline for his return, but that he is just taking it day by day. He is now able to walk with just a slight limp and put some pressure on the calf muscle, and he is doing some light jogging with basketball movements, and some light shooting. But there are obviously still several hurdles left to clear.
“I’m probably, I would say, 30 to 40 percent, running-wise,” Smart said. “But just mostly doing a lot of testing, getting my calf stronger and doing a lot of calf raises and things of that nature to strengthen it, and just getting ready to hopefully get to the point of stage three or four where I’m full-court running and really just going all out to really test this thing.”
Smart suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ Jan. 30 loss to the Lakers when he took a faulty step while trying to contest a Montrezl Harrell shot at the rim. He said he could feel his calf muscle pop and tried to jump a second time anyway. Then he felt it pop again.
“That pop just really sent this burning painful sensation down my whole leg,” he said. “So, thank God it wasn’t my Achilles’, [or] anything worse. Thankful for that. But still hurts like hell. But blessed it was nothing worse.”
Smart said he was unsure what led to this non-contact injury, but that he would not be surprised if the short turnaround after playing in the Orlando bubble played some role.
“Nobody knows,” he said. “This could have happened to anybody and it could’ve been worse. So you just go forward, you continue to strengthen the calf, continue to do your balance work, and really get your body and mind back to trusting one another again.”
Tribute on Russell’s birthday
Celtics legend Bill Russell turned 87 on Friday. Celtics coach Brad Stevens said he has only spoken to Russell a few times, but the first will stick with him the most. Russell was in attendance for Stevens’s TD Garden debut on Nov. 1, 2013. The Celtics raced to a 16-point halftime lead against the Bucks before losing, 105-98.
“I’ve always felt bad about that,” Stevens said.
Last September the Celtics recorded a video titled “Because of You, Bill Russell,” in which Stevens and the players shared messages about the lasting impact of the civil rights leader and 11-time NBA champion.
“He is everything you want to be represented by,” Stevens said. “I’ve said this many times, when you think about his impact on and off the court, he’s in very rarefied air, and I can’t think of a better representative of our sport or the Celtics.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.
"smart" - Google News
February 13, 2021 at 03:38AM
https://ift.tt/3ahUhRp
Marcus Smart continues ‘tough’ process in comeback from calf strain - The Boston Globe
"smart" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2P2kUhG
https://ift.tt/3febf3M
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Marcus Smart continues ‘tough’ process in comeback from calf strain - The Boston Globe"
Post a Comment