The Celtics are banged up and things are not getting any better, despite their five day layoff earlier this week. Gordon Hayward, who's been suffering from a sore left foot for the past month, has been ruled out for Friday night's match-up against the Detroit Pistons.
Hayward also missed the Celtics 109-103 win over the Mavericks in Dallas on Wednesday, as his MRI come back clean with no structural damage. According to Brad Stevens, Hayward's pain doesn't seem like it will be a long-term issue.
"It's nothing muscular, it's nothing bone wise. So he's just got pain in one spot," Stevens said. "Whether that's from the shot that could be better within any day now or whether it's something that he just needs to continue to figure out how to manage it best. That's probably the way that they're going to have to look at it... he's going to be day to day." [CelticsBlog]As for Marcus Smart, he has missed the last four games with an eye infection that started in his left eye and has now spread to the other, as he was already listed as out on Thursday.
"The last report I got (from the training staff), they didn’t think they’ve seen one this bad," Stevens told reporters earlier today. "He's just really had a tough go about it. So, I don't know when he'll be back. He's still not around here." [NBC Sports Boston]Though no timeline has been set for Smart, Danny Ainge said on his weekly appearance on Boston's 98.5 The Sports Hub that he hopes the Celtics guard could return to the lineup on Christmas when the team heads north of the border to face the NBA champion Toronto Raptors.
"He was just quarantined at home, but he's getting better. I talk to him every day, and I'm hoping that he'll be healthy," said Ainge Thursday "He hasn't played basketball or even been out of bed much over the last week to ten days. We need to get him back out on the court and sweating and making sure he's healthy and doing good. I would venture to say Christmas, Christmas Day would be the time for his return, but that's just a guess." [Celtics Wire]The Celtics look to win their second in a row when they host the Pistons at TD Garden tonight, they are 2-2 so far without Smart.
Joel Pavón
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Picture used courtesy of Associated Press
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