BOSTON — It has now been exactly four weeks since Marcus Smart suffered a torn oblique muscle in the penultimate game of Boston’s season, meaning he has moved within the four-to-six-week window originally given as the timeline for his recovery.
It’s been 51 days since Malcolm Brogdon was shut down by the Bucks after suffering a torn plantar fascia in his right foot. The puts him into Week 7 of what was expected to be a six-to-eight-week recovery.
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With the Bucks leading the Eastern Conference semifinal series over the Celtics, 2-1, heading into Game 4 on Monday (7 p.m. ET, TNT), the possibility of arriving reinforcements could help push momentum back toward the Celtics — or put the Bucks on the brink of the conference finals.
Neither Smart nor Brogdon is a household name, of course, but each is a valuable contributor. Smart is a rough-and-tumble defender whose energy and passion were obviously missing in Game 3. The Celtics were within reach of the Bucks entering the fourth quarter — down by only eight points — but it felt like Boston had already conceded the game.
That doesn’t happen with Smart on the floor. Not that the Celtics would have stormed back and won had Smart been available, but his knack for forcing key turnovers through relentlessness or hitting big shots so often leads to the kind of TD Garden crowd explosions that can shift a game. At the very least, the Celtics would have held off on white-flagging the game on Friday had Smart been around.
Brogdon is not the same powder keg of activity, but he was one of the most reliable shooters in the league this season, the only player to hit the 50-40-90 plateau (he shot 50.5 percent from the field, 42.6 percent from the 3-point line and 92.8 percent from the free-throw line).
The Bucks need that kind of steadiness, especially at shooting guard, where starter Sterling Brown is suffering back spasms and was 1-for-10 in the series before sitting out Game 3. The position has been salvaged by Pat Connaughton, who was 4-for-9 from the 3-point line and had 14 points and seven rebounds in Game 3.
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That’s the reason the Bucks stand to gain more from the return of their injured guy than the Celtics do. Bringing back Brogdon addresses a hole in the rotation.
When the Bucks are making shots around star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, their offense is as difficult to handle as any in the league. Brogdon will give the Bucks another shooter and solidify a position that’s been a problem.
While the Celtics need Smart’s toughness, from an Xs-and-Os standpoint, he has no clear fit in this series. He has had some success against Antetokounmpo during the season, but at 6-4, he can only be used in short stints against a 7-footer like Antetokounmpo. He’ll spend more time guarding Khris Middleton or Brogdon, the players he saw most regularly in three regular-season matchups against the Bucks.
Slowing Middleton (21.3 points against the Celtics) would be a bonus, but Middleton’s damage has mostly come from his 65.0 percent 3-point shooting. Smart’s defensive strength is in one-on-one battling, not in closing out on shooters. Middleton shot 66.7 percent from the 3-point line when guarded by Smart in last year’s playoffs.
Still, the Celtics could use a change of dynamics for Game 4 after Games 2 and 3 were played very much on Milwaukee’s terms. Maybe Smart, whatever his role, can change that.
But Brogdon’s return gives the Bucks another shooter. That’s something the Celtics just don’t need to see at this point in the series. If both Smart and Brogdon return, it’s advantage, Milwaukee.