Although the Boston Celtics dropped a 96-95 heartbreaker to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday after failing to convert the consecutive potential games, the loss was the least of their concerns, as Marcus Smart declined in the fourth quarter with a frightening injury to his left calf area. It was quickly announced that Smart has contracted a strained calf, but there were many similarities between Kevin Durant’s infamous Achilles tear in the 2019 NBA Finals, where you could see the tendon break brightly like day and Smart’s injury Saturday night.
Fortunately, Boston can exhale, as Smart’s injury was not too serious, as it was diagnosed as a grade 1 calf breed. by The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Although it is not nearly as important compared to a much more serious injury, Smart will still be sidelined for 1-2 weeks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Here’s the zoomed out view of Smart’s injury, where he goes to the ground after trying to charge to get a rebound:
Here is the zoomed-in view:
In the second video you can see something in Smart’s calf grip, which was visibly similar to Durant’s injury, so that you can understand the immediate concern. However, after an MRI, Smart’s injury was not as serious as it used to be. Yet there is no reason for Boston to try to chase him back to ensure he does not injure himself again.