WALTHAM, Mass. — Marcus Smart said his emotions have run the gamut in the four weeks since he sliced his hand open — and nearly ended his season in an instant — while punching a glass picture frame during an outburst in a Los Angeles hotel room.
"One day I was sad," he said. "One day I was mad. Frustrated, irritated, annoyed — all those words."
It’s safe to add a heaping dose of guilt and relief to the list as well.
The guilt comes [...]
WALTHAM, Mass. — Marcus Smart said his emotions have run the gamut in the four weeks since he sliced his hand open — and nearly ended his season in an instant — while punching a glass picture frame during an outburst in a Los Angeles hotel room.
“One day I was sad,” he said. “One day I was mad. Frustrated, irritated, annoyed — all those words.”
It’s safe to add a heaping dose of guilt and relief to the list as well.
The guilt comes out of a selfish act that left his Celtic teammates shorthanded during a stretch in which they lost four of five games heading into the All-Star break. The relief comes out of what he was told when he was rushed to the hospital with a shard of glass still sticking out of his right hand.
“They pulled a glass piece out of the palm of my hand about that size (between two and three inches),” he said as he estimated the length with his index finger and his thumb. “They said there were two tendons that ran along the pinkie area. The glass was sitting right in between them. They were like: ‘You should play the lotto because you missed your tendons.’ They don’t understand [how I missed them].
“I thank God for that every day. It could have been worse. I’m glad it’s not."
Smart was cleared to practice Wednesday night when the team reconvened from the break in Waltham. He said he hopes to redeem himself in the eyes of fans and teammates after he feels he let them down with his actions.
“I was devastated,” he said of missing 11 games with the injury that he said required 20 stitches to close. “Just from the fact that I couldn’t do anything to go out there and help.
“I’m a competitor. It’s one thing to sit on the bench because of something that happened that you couldn’t control. It’s another when it’s something you can control. I felt like I let my team down.”
Celtics coach Brad Stevens repeatedly said the team was “disappointed” in Smart in the immediate aftermath of the injury.
“It wasn’t a very good move,” the coach said. “You don’t want to put yourself in that risk. Luckily nothing — beyond what happened — happened. His hand looks a lot better. That’s obviously encouraging. You don’t want anybody to pay any more than he did in regards to time missed and time away.
“He does want to play. He’s a guy who really likes to play. He’s a good teammate.”
Celtics forward Al Horford said Smart’s return should help make a difference in a defense that allowed 250 points combined in losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers leading up to the break.
“There’s no question that having Marcus back makes our defense a lot better,” Horford said following the nearly two-hour workout. “As a group — what I said before I’ll say again — it’s our focus and our commitment to defending. That’s what we need to do. I feel like we’ve talked enough about it. It has to start in our next game on Friday.”
Stevens said he is not sure whether Shane Larkin (sore right knee) will be back for that game. The coach said Larkin went through cutting and running drills on Wednesday and will attempt to practice Thursday before the team leaves for Detroit in the afternoon.
Smart said the final test in his comeback was Wednesday night to see how he felt when he received contact on the hand. He said he is pain-free, but will wear a piece of tape on it to protect the wound.
When he first spoke to the media before the Feb. 4 game vs. the Portland Trail Blazers following the incident, he called the outburst a “relapse” when it came to his emotional control. He said he now knows what a relapse like that can cost him — and that he was fortunate it did not cost him a lot more.
“I haven’t really talked to anybody about it,” he said. “I’ve just got to out there and do it. It’s not a big deal. Up until this point, I’ve been doing real good this year.
“Some things you just have to learn from. This is one of those learning moments for me.”