Marcus Smart (calf contusion) out tonight against Cavs along with Kemba Walker & Rob Williams

Sigh.

Tonight, the Boston Celtics, coming off of three straight losses, will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on the tail end of a back-to-back. Despite already losing Jaylen Brown for the rest of the season and Robert Williams III for an indefinite period, the Celtics will continue to rest Kemba Walker on the second nights of back-to-backs tonight against Cleveland while Marcus Smart has also been ruled out. For the record, this is not the same calf that was strained in the injury he sustained at the end of January that kept him out until the All-Star break.

The Marcus Smart news is the only news I didn’t see coming, seeing as how there was no information about a calf injury released prior to today. Hopefully this is more of a load management issue than anything else, but as information is released we’ll have a clearer picture of how Marcus Smart is feeling and his status moving forward. He’s in the middle of getting out of a brief a slump, so hopefully he’ll be alright as the Celtics hope to extend their season as long as possible with a shorthanded team.

There’s also this:

So maybe all is well and Smart is just getting some much-needed rest. We’ll know more as media availability approaches.

The Celtics take on the Cavs tonight in Cleveland at 8:00 PM EST.