Must Cs: Celtics receive update on Gordon Hayward

Brad Stevens: “(Marcus Smart) doubtful).”

Stevens’ presser became a long medical report on the “hospital Celtics.” Marcus Smart arrived sick, with a cold, after injuring his oblique against the Knicks. The medical staff stepped in and held him out due to the extra strain of the illness and he’s doubtful Wednesday against the Heat. Gordon Hayward was cleared for more after his meeting with his doctor on Monday, but still did not practice with live action — only serving as a ref. Romeo Langford returned to Maine, with his ankle injury less serious than it looked.

Gordon Hayward: “I did some contact against coaches. Coaches aren’t quite NBA players.”

Hayward progressed at Celtics practice today, but expects his broken left hand to swell in response to the uptick. He’ll evaluate it day-by-day, with unstructured workouts marking the next step in his return from his injury that he suffered on Nov. 9. Getting his left hand back to form, his non-dominant, will be the difficult part of the recovery as well as responding to opponents flying at him full speed on defense and the boards.