25 January 2023 , 21:01
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The Boston Celtics will be sweating on the extent of Marcus Smart's injury and his timetable to return after losing their defensive ace to an ankle injury this past weekend.
Smart won defensive player of the year last season and remains one of the best on-ball defensive players in the league and vitally important to the team.
But he had to be carried off the court against the Toronto Raptors after falling awkwardly. The Celtics were down 57-49 to the Toronto Raptors, but their problems got a lot worse as Smart went down. The Celtics had already missed Jayson Tatum in that game, who did not play the following game in a loss to the Orlando Magic, with Celtics then being without a number of players the following game - another loss - this to the Miami Heat.
But Smart remains the man that Celtics fans will hope can return, after losing both of their games without him and looking noticeably weaker on the defensive end of the floor. The extent of Smart's injury is not yet known.
The Celtics have already built their roster in preparation for injuries, with Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon being starting quality back-ups who have shown their capable of playing at high level.
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But it's been a rocky few weeks for the C's, after an extremely promising start to the campaign when they look to be clear favourites for the NBA championship.
Marcus Smart has been a key player for the Boston Celtics (Getty Images)In more positive news, they do have starting center Robert Williams back, who missed the first half of the season after surgery. Williams is one of the better defensive bigmen, providing much needed rim protection for the team.
Despite this, the Celtics are leading the Eastern Conference with a record of 35-14, winning the most games across the entire NBA so far this season.
They will look to go one better this season, after losing in the NBA finals to the Golden State Warriors, with Steph Curry winning his fourth NBA title - now equal with LeBron James.