Smart Travels With Celtics But Will Not Play Vs. Hornets
BOSTON (CBS) -- There is some encouraging news for the Boston Celtics on the Marcus Smart front.
Smart, sidelined since November 20 after bumping knees with Brooklyn's Thomas Robinson, traveled to Charlotte with the team for Wednesday night's matchup with the Hornets. He will not play, but traveling with the team is a positive step towards his return.
Boston's second-year guard has missed the last 16 games with the injury, and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said last week on Toucher & Rich that the team is eyeing a late-December/early-January return for Smart. He started some individual on-court activities last week, and the team is hopeful that he can participate in some of the lighter activities during Wednesday's shootaround.
READ: Celtics-Hornets Preview
In nine games before the injury, Smart was averaging 9.8 points on 33 percent shooting from the floor to go with 3.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds per contest. The Celtics have gone 8-8 without Smart in the lineup.
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