Marcus Smart to get surgery on hand - but might be back for the playoffs

This is far from the news we'd hoped for, but so much better than it could have gone, as well.

Celtics guard Marcus Smart will undergo surgery on his thumb today, but there's hope he can return sometime in the playoffs, league source tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 16, 2018

Marcus Smart is reportedly electing to undergo surgery on his injured hand, which partially tore a thumb tendon last week as he dove for a loose ball.

So, according to @wojespn, Marcus Smart will have surgery on his right thumb today to repair a torn ligament. Best case scenario is he'll return at some point in the playoffs. That means no Smart, Gordon Hayward, or Daniel Theis for the remainder of the regular season. #Celtics

— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) March 16, 2018

The operation, which will happen today, will have him out at least six weeks, which would place an optimistic return just as the Eastern Conference Semifinals begin. There's no guarantee, however, that Smart's recovery will proceed that quickly - or that the Boston Celtics will still be in the mix by then, either.

Still, given the fact we were looking at the match against the Indiana Pacers Marcus injured his hand in being potentially the last game he ever plays for Boston with restricted free agency looming, this is a much better potential outcome than we thought we might be looking at. Get healthy, Smart - we're going to need your hustle and grit to get further than the second round, almost certainly.

Hope is that a six-week recovery would allow Marcus Smart to return during playoffs. But a firm timetable won’t be certain until after surgery today. From @wojespn: https://t.co/ut1T7k3Xjt

— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) March 16, 2018

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