Pregame Post-Ups: Smart: Thumb Feels ‘Amazing,’ Will Play in Game 5

BOSTON – Brad Stevens said Tuesday morning that Marcus Smart would be cleared to play in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Milwaukee Bucks as long as he was able to go through pregame contact drills without feeling any pain in his surgically-repaired right thumb.

Tuesday evening, Stevens reported back with good news.

“He felt great after shootaround,” Stevens stated ahead of tip-off at TD Garden. “Assuming that continues and he doesn’t have any pain, any discomfort, any issues with the splint that he’s wearing, then he’ll play. He hasn’t played in six weeks so it’s hard to say how much, but he certainly will play and we’ll go through there.”

Fifteen minutes later, Smart assured reporters that he was feeling no pain whatsoever and confirmed that he would be playing.

“I played some 2-on-2 earlier today with some contact,” said Smart. “It feels amazing, so that’s a good sign.”

Smart will wear a splint to protect his thumb, but he claims that his tenacious approach will not change. According to his doctor, the thumb has completely healed and there is no further risk of injury, so he’s going to take the same relentless approach as always.

“Whatever happens, it happens,” he said. “It’s part of the game, injuries happen. You can’t control them. Obviously if we could, nobody would be injured. I’m just going to go out there and play.”

Smart will likely not face any minutes restriction because of the thumb, but Stevens says he probably won’t play more than 35 minutes since he hasn’t seen any 5-on-5 action in six weeks. On top of that, the coach expects Smart could experience some initial rust upon his return.

“Without question, if you haven’t played in six weeks there’ll be some rusty moments,” said Stevens. “But that’s alright. That’s part of it.”

Stevens knows that it won’t take long for Smart to shake off the rust, and his presence alone should allow the Celtics to pick up the defensive intensity that they’ve been lacking over the last few games. As long as he can provide that quality, the C’s should have a good chance of beating the Bucks tonight to push them to the brink of elimination.

- Taylor Snow