Celtics Journal: Marcus Smart has more on his mind than making a quick return

BOSTON — Marcus Smart got the messages from his family and friends.

They were asking how he was doing, if he was all right. The Celtics guard said he thought they were referring to his rehab from thumb ligament surgery.

Then last week he found out it was about something else.

"They told me I’ve got to get home and see my mom," he said.

Smart made it back to [...]

BOSTON — Marcus Smart got the messages from his family and friends.

They were asking how he was doing, if he was all right. The Celtics guard said he thought they were referring to his rehab from thumb ligament surgery.

Then last week he found out it was about something else.

“They told me I’ve got to get home and see my mom,” he said.

Smart made it back to Texas on Wednesday when his mother revealed news that she had kept from him.

Camellia Smart told her son she had been diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) — a form of cancer that affects the bone marrow.

“From my understanding she’s been sick since we were in London [in January],” Smart said prior to Game 2 of the first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. “She’s been in and out of the hospital. Just like any other parent, they don’t like to tell you much. They keep it to themselves until you have to know.

“She told me as soon as I landed [on Wednesday] and went to go see her. She wanted to tell me herself. That was a big deal.”

Smart said he spent a few days with her, but returned to the team for Sunday’s game at her behest.

“She told me she’d rather me be here than back there,” he said. “[She wants me] doing what I love to do. She loves watching me play. She said that would put a smile on her face if I get back healthy and get back on the court.”

Smart has begun light shooting four weeks removed from thumb surgery and said on Tuesday the hope is to beat the April 27 timetable for a return to game action.

Having dealt with the death of his older brother from lung cancer that spread when he was young, fought through the anger issues that stemmed from that, and watched as his mother battled various health ailments, including a quadruple bypass three years ago, he said the basketball court has been his therapy the whole time.

“I talked to a lot of my friends and family members and was telling them basketball is like my eye of the storm,” he said. “That’s where I’m the most calm. I can think to myself and that relieves all the pressure from me.

“But it is hard to leave her — especially knowing the situation. But my family members are all around her with positivity and good vibes. That makes me feel a little bit better.”

Smart said with his mother’s age of 63, and other health issues — she has only one healthy kidney — treatment options are limited.

“At this point, from what they told me, they are just trying to preserve life right now,” he said.

But he added that she had another doctor’s visit on Tuesday and that he looked forward to hearing the options, and making it back to Texas to see her soon.

“It’s kind of ironic that her first born gets it and now she has it,” he said. “It’s tough. But my mom’s a tough cookie. As long as she’s fighting I’m going to continue to fight, too.”

Irving sits in

Kyrie Irving is making his presence felt around the Celtics even if he can’t help them on the court. Irving was on the bench for the first half of Game 1 on Sunday, a little more than a week removed from knee surgery that is expected to sideline him for four to five months.

“His schedule is a little bit different from our schedule from the standpoint of when he comes into the gym and when our team is in there," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "And when our trainers go to see him at his house right now because he’s not traveling a whole lot. That’s more him reaching out individually. He’s been great about that all year.”

Stevens also addressed Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge’s revelation that Gordon Hayward had begun a jogging program with a “running mechanics specialist” in Indianapolis as he recovers from ankle and leg surgery.

“We’re just trying to get him ready for Friday’s game and we’re hopeful he can play,” he said before giving up the joke. “He’s not going to join us in Milwaukee. … He’s still a long, long, long, long way away.”