NEW YORK — Marcus Smart has been beat up while playing in all 19 Celtic games this season, but that streak may be about to come to an end for a bit.
After taking a shot to his left eye in the first quarter of Sunday’s 113-104 win over the Knicks, Smart was hit in the midsection by a driving Kevin Knox with 8:01 left in the third period. He exited for the remainder of the affair and is now taking stock of all his dents.
The latest has been diagnosed as an issue with his left oblique. That it comes on top of hip, ankle and finger injuries just brings it closer to critical mass. So does the fact this is the same oblique that caused him to miss the first round of last year’s playoffs and be hindered when he returned for Game 4 against Milwaukee.
It was at first thought he’d injured his hip again Sunday, but Smart corrected that as he walked toward the Celtics’ bus.
“No, just in my oblique,” he said. “Right in the same spot that I tore last season. 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.”
Smart didn’t have surgery last season, but he noted there is still scar tissue in the area.
“(He) just hit me in the right spot, right moment,” said Smart, who has to wear a compression glove on his left hand in pregame to help with the lingering finger problem.
As for whether it might be time for him to miss a game or more to get his body closer to healthy, Smart said, “I think so. I think that might be it. That might be my final straw. We’ll see how it goes.”
Oh, and the eye that got hit by Damyean Dotson Sunday?
“The eye is fine — a little scratched, but it’s all right,” Smart said.
Staying pro
The question from an area commentator came out of nowhere as Brad Stevens was preparing to coach his 511th regular season game for the Celtics Sunday. Does he ever think about going back to the college game?
Stevens paused a moment and said, “No, I wouldn’t say that I think about going back. I really enjoy the NBA game. I enjoy the NBA level. I’ve said many times, there’s pros and cons to both, but I also recognize that I’m really lucky to coach in one of the best places in the world and for one of the best organizations in the world. So my hope and goal would be all centered around what we can accomplish here.”
And, it was suggested by a member of the Boston media, he likes having the summers free.
“And I like the summers,” Stevens said.
Injured again
Romeo Langford can’t seem to catch a break. The rookie went back to G-League Maine after spraining his right ankle there recently and had 14 points in 17 minutes Sunday before injuring the ankle again.
The Celtics’ top draft pick was unable to play in the summer league because he was still getting over the thumb injury that dogged him last season at Indiana. He injured his groin before training camp, then tweaked his right knee when he returned. Now there are the two ankle injuries, though one Celt official said this doesn’t appear to be serious.
Fellow rookie Grant Williams certainly feels for his friend.
“Yeah, Romeo is a competitor, so it’s kind of tough to see him go down,” he said. “I don’t know what happened today or how serious an injury it is, but I know for him, he wants to be on the court. He likes playing. That’s probably the reason why he was in Maine. He wants to compete and play at a high level. I know he’ll bounce back as he always has.”
Said Smart, before he had his own injury problems here, “It’s part of it. That’s all I can say. But he’s young, but he’ll bounce back from these little minor tweaks. It’s nothing serious. Just bad luck.”
Steady gains
Robert Williams had a thundering dunk and two blocked shots against the Knicks, but he was removed after a bad turnover and played just 6:49.
The 18-footer he hit against the Nets on Friday was the longest make of his NBA career.
“I mean, he’s worked hard on that stuff,” said Stevens. “That’s obviously not a shot that we’re seeking early in the clock, but they were so far off of him. … It was good to see Rob knock one down. Rob’s worked really hard on his skill. He’s not going to be a high-volume jump shooter though.”
