Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge confirmed on Friday that Marcus Smart’s oblique injury will sideline him for at least Sunday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Bucks.
Smart, who has been out since suffering the oblique tear on April 7, continues to ramp up the intensity of his workouts, however. He was seen after practice Friday running sprints and shooting some 3-pointers.
“Everyone knows what Marcus brings to the table in terms of defensively, passion, intangibles, loose balls, stuff like that,’’ forward Jaylen Brown said. “We need guys like that, but we’re going to have to have guys step up.