Source: Celtics’ Smart suffers strained oblique

The Boston Celtics know who they will play in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Now they have to wait to find out if a couple of injured Celtics will be ready when Boston’s postseason begins here against the Indiana Pacers next weekend.

Not only did the Celtics lose to the Orlando Magic at TD Garden on Sunday night 116-108, but Boston also lost guard Marcus Smart and forward Jayson Tatum to injuries. Smart sustained a left oblique strain, a source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, though coach Brad Stevens called it a bruise. Tatum has a left shin contusion.nike nfl jerseys cheap paypal

Both players left the game early and didn’t return and were not in the locker room when reporters entered it postgame. Judging by Stevens’ postgame comments, neither — along with several other Celtics mainstays — will be playing in Boston’s season finale Tuesday in Washington.1

“The point of tonight was to try to — because we won’t play [a playoff game] ’til Saturday, maybe Sunday — was to get a true game for some of our starters and our top seven or eight guys,” Stevens said. “But those guys will play a lot less on Tuesday, if at all.”

The much more immediate concern, however, was over the status of Smart and Tatum. Smart, in particular, looked concerning given the odd circumstances under which he got hurt. After chasing Evan Fournier down the lane, Smart bumped into Magic center Nikola Vucevic and crashed to the ground, holding his side.nike nfl jerseys cheap china

Stevens said Tatum, on the other hand, had been dealing with the shin contusion even before Sunday’s game, but that he had gone through shootaround and pregame workouts without any issues.

That changed, however, once the game began, and Tatum exited for good after just six minutes.

“It was never told to me as it was something that would keep him from playing,” Stevens said. “He did the whole shootaround this morning, he got warmed up, he did his whole workout, and he felt great.