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Danny Picard: Marcus Smart is the Bucks worst nightmare – Metro US

Danny Picard: Marcus Smart is the Bucks worst nightmare

Marcus Smart return come back Bucks

Ok, so it’s not necessarily the Battle of Winterfell, but the Milwaukee Bucks should still fear the return of the injured Boston Celtics guard, if he is able to make an appearance during their second-round playoff series.

Entering Friday night’s Game 3 at the TD Garden in Boston, the series is tied at 1-1. The Celtics whooped the Bucks in Game 1. And Milwaukee returned the favor in Game 2.

And while some might want to discuss the potential return of injured Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon, the real difference maker in the series will be Smart, again, if he is cleared to play at some point over the next week-and-a-half.

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We know this because we saw it last year, in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, as the Celtics defeated the Bucks in seven games, thanks to the return of, that’s right, an injured Smart.

Smart came back from a hand injury in Game 5 of that series last April, and he made an immediate impact off the bench in that game with nine points, five rebounds, four assists, a steal, and three blocks in 25 minutes. He was his usual self, diving for loose balls, providing a physical presence, and creating a spark for a Celtics team that won the game at home and took a 3-2 series lead.

We could see something similar this time around, if his recovery allows for it.

Smart suffered a torn left oblique on April 7, in the Celtics’ second-to-last game of the regular season. The original timetable was four-to-six weeks. It will be four weeks to the day this Sunday. Game 4 is on Monday at the Garden, followed by Game 5 on Wednesday in Milwaukee, Game 6 next Friday back in Boston, and Game 7 a week from Monday in Milwaukee.

The Celtics are making it sound as if Smart isn’t really all that close to the heroic return that we saw last year. But that could just be a little gamesmanship on the part of Brad Stevens and the rest of the organization.

My prediction is that Smart will be ready to play by next Friday’s Game 6 at the Garden, which would be almost five weeks from when he went down with the oblique injury. By then, perhaps the Celtics could be getting ready to close out the series.

Before Game 1, I picked the Celtics in seven. After Game 1, I changed that to Celtics in six. And I’m sticking to that revised pick, even after the beatdown Milwaukee put on the C’s on Tuesday night in Game 2.

What I saw in Game 1 was that these Celtics have the ability to shut down, or at least contain, Giannis Antetokounmpo, even without their best defensive player in Smart.

Antetokounmpo led his team with 22 points in Game 1, but it was clear that the Celtics’ defensive game plan of getting in his face on the perimeter worked marvelously. And much of the credit for executing that game plan should go to Al Horford, who had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks in the Game 1 Celtics win. But his performance will be remembered for how he sent a message to the Greak Freak, which was, “We know how to stop you.”

The Celtics didn’t necessarily execute that strategy in Game 2, but at least the blueprint is there and we know they have the ability to make sure Antetokounmpo doesn’t single-handedly run them over all series long.

But the Greak Freak might want to try and do as much damage as he can in the next couple of games. Because regardless of what the Celtics might be telling us with their injury report, Milwaukee’s worst nightmare is once again preparing to become a reality in the middle of a playoff series.

And the reality is, Smart is coming.

Listen to “The Danny Picard Show” on PodcastOne, iTunes, and Spotify. Follow him on Twitter @DannyPicard. Subscribe to YouTube.com/DannyPicard.