A former longtime Celtic will play his first game back at TD Garden on Saturday night.
Maybe.
Marcus Smart, who spent his first nine NBA seasons in Boston before his 2023 trade to Memphis, is listed as questionable for Sunday’s Celtics-Grizzlies matchup with an ankle injury. A finger injury prevented the feisty guard from suiting up in Memphis’ lone visit to Boston last season.
Though Smart’s status was uncertain as of Friday night, Jayson Tatum said he couldn’t wait to see his old teammate.
“I’m thrilled to see Smart (on Saturday),” the Celtics star said after scoring 34 points in a 111-105 win over Milwaukee. “You all know how much he means to this city, to this franchise. Ultimate Celtic. He’ll always be a Celtic for life. I had played with him for six years. I didn’t envision a time where I wouldn’t be on his team.
“So, if he does play (Saturday), it’ll be a little weird, but I’ll probably go out there and tackle the (expletive) out of him or something. But I’m excited to see him. I know the fans are going to be thrilled to have Smart back in the building, so it’s going to be a special moment.”
Smart played an integral role in the Celtics’ emergence as a perennial title contender. Drafted one year after the franchise-shaping Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade, he helped Boston reach the Eastern Conference finals in five of his final seven seasons with the club. He was the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year during the Celtics’ 2022 run to the NBA Finals, where they lost to Golden State in six games.
The Celtics finally became champions one year after the Smart trade, which brought Kristaps Porzingis to Boston cleared space for a new-look, defensively dominant backcourt of Derrick White and Jrue Holiday.
“(I’m) just excited to see Marcus,” Al Horford said. “Besides the basketball stuff, it’s just getting to see him, see how he’s doing, getting to catch up. We’ll see if he plays.”
Smart appeared in just 20 games during his first season with the Grizzlies, and he’s taken on a new reserve role this year, coming off the bench in eight of his 13 appearances. The 30-year-old injured his ankle Thursday in a win over Sacramento but returned to the game and had one of his best performances of the season, finishing with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in 26 minutes.
“I’m sure they see how good I’ve been playing, and they’re going to try to make sure I don’t come in there and have a great game,” Smart told reporters on Friday, via The Commercial Appeal. “It’s a big test for us.”