Ime Udoka: Marcus Smart will be playing through pain

Mark Medina: Celtics coach Ime Udoka says that Marcus Smart will be “playing through pain,” but that’s he’s “good to go.” Source: Twitter @MarkG_Medina What’s the buzz on Twitter? Mark Medina @ MarkG_Medina Celtics coach Ime Udoka says that Marcus …

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Celtics coach Ime Udoka says that Marcus Smart will be “playing through pain,” but that’s he’s “good to go.” – 7:38 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Ime Udoka said Robert Williams will start tonight. He can play however minutes are necessary, but that the Celtics will try to keep his minutes down to keep him around 20 minutes for his best impact. – 7:34 PM
A. Sherrod Blakely @ASherrodblakely
Robert Williams will start, said Ime Udoka. But as far as his usual minutes played, that’ll depend on the flow of the game. – 7:34 PM
Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
Ime Udoka says Robert Williams will start and can play his normal allotment of minutes. – 7:33 PM
Jay King @ByJayKing
Ime Udoka said Robert Williams will start tonight, as he usually does. They will continue to be conscious of his minutes. – 7:32 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Celtics coach Ime Udoka said that Robert Williams III will start tonight in Game 1. Not clear how many minutes. – 7:32 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Celtics coach Ime Udoka on Jayson Tatum: “I never met a young at his age that takes care of his body the way he does.” – 7:31 PM
Sirius XM NBA @SiriusXMNBA
The Celtics were 3 games under .500 on December 29th. Tonight, they play in the NBA Finals
Celtics HC Ime Udoka tells @TermineRadio & @Eddie Johnson how they turned it around
@Boston Celtics | #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/BUpHlTcMtm6:18 PM

Michael C. Wright @mikecwright
“He’s great at holding guys accountable w/out belittling them, which is huge. That old-school stuff is kind of dead now. He is the new generation of coach. He’s got all the DNA to succeed.” – A current NBA assistant that worked with Ime Udoka in San Antonio & Philly. – 2:45 PM
StatMuse @statmuse
11 of the 14 top scorers this Finals were drafted by their team.
Jayson Tatum
Steph Curry
Jaylen Brown
Klay Thompson
Jordan Poole
Andrew Wiggins*
Marcus Smart
Al Horford*
Grant Williams
Draymond Green
Derrick White*
Robert Williams
Jonathan Kuminga
Kevon Looney
Homegrown Bowl. pic.twitter.com/4jkTznGgSc9:30 AM

Matt Steinmetz @SteinmetzNBA
Is Marcus Smart a better on-ball defender or off-ball defender? – 11:49 PM
Sam Amick @sam_amick
Notes from Finals media day, w/ @Joe Vardon, at @TheAthletic
* The polar opposite paths the Celtics and Warriors took to get here
* The Ime Udoka effect
* The Gary Payton II experience
* Guillermo from the @JimmyKimmelLive show has an accomplice
theathletic.com/3345228/2022/0…10:52 PM
Connor Letourneau @Con_Chron
I wrote on the Draymond Green-Marcus Smart dynamic, and why these Finals could help determine who’s the NBA’s best defender: sfchronicle.com/sports/warrior…9:32 PM
Ben Rohrbach @brohrbach
Celtics list Robert Williams as questionable for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Marcus Smart is no longer on the injury report. – 7:32 PM
Mark Murphy @Murf56
Draymond Green on Marcus Smart: “I think he really thinks the game. You can see it the way he plays, the way he’s teaching guys, the way he’s commanding attention in huddles and going through the X’s and O’s in the huddles. You see it all. I think he does a great job of that.” – 7:26 PM
Joe Vardon @joevardon
Marcus Smart says he’s thankful he can walk. He’s one of several key players listed as ‘questionable’ for Game 1 of the NBA FINALS, @The Athletic theathletic.com/news/celtics-w…5:32 PM
Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
Marcus Smart, on if he agrees with the comparisons to Draymond Green: “I do.” – 4:58 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Celtics guard Marcus Smart described his ankle injury as “serious.” Smart: “Thankful to be playing, let alone walking.” – 4:56 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Marcus Smart said his ankle injury was “pretty serious” and that he’s thankful to be playing. Added: “My mom always told me ‘If you’re on the court, no excuses. Otherwise, sit your tail down.’ So, I’m out here working.” – 4:56 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Marcus Smart and Robert Williams will both be listed as questionable for Game 1, per Ime Udoka.
Williams will remain day-to-day throughout The Finals. – 4:42 PM
Jay King @ByJayKing
Ime Udoka reiterated that Robert Williams will be day to day the rest of the way. He and Marcus Smart will both be listed as questionable for Game 1. – 4:41 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Draymond Green on Marcus Smart: “He thinks the game. You can see it on the floor…And he’s a great leader. And he’s grown so much. It’s been really good to watch.” – 3:51 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Steve Kerr says that Marcus Smart is the guard version of Draymond Green: “He’s a great, great defender and probably an underrated offensive player as well.” – 3:43 PM
Jay King @ByJayKing
Steve Kerr has compared Marcus Smart to a guard version of Draymond Grren: “He’s a great, great defender and probably an underrated offensive player as well.” – 3:42 PM
StatMuse @statmuse
Steph Curry when defended by Marcus Smart in the last 5 seasons:
— 30 points in 6 games
— 37% shooting, 30% from three
— 3 assists, 7 turnovers pic.twitter.com/jgjMHzAxgA10:45 AM

Chris Haynes @ChrisBHaynes
Marcus Smart spoke candidly to @YahooSports upon landing in SF on the Steph Curry task, how he’ll be greeted for inadvertently injuring the star, why Boston’s ready and why he’s a target that’ll never alter his style: ‘First one on the floor gets the ball’ sports.yahoo.com/marcus-smart-k…9:27 AM
Jake Madison @NOLAJake
NEW Locked On NBA w/@John Karalis
🏀 Marcus Smart the biggest X-Factor in the series?
🏀 Warriors offense v. Celtics defense
🏀 What role with Gary Payton II play?
https://t.co/hQy7BwayU7 pic.twitter.com/NRBXBx2vqv9:24 AM

Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
Key to #NBA Finals will be how Steph Curry fares versus Marcus Smart. #Celtics #Warriors nypost.com/2022/06/01/nba… via @nypostsports12:30 AM
Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHM
As he preps to face the Celtics and DPOY Marcus Smart, Draymond Green says he took being voted to the All-Defensive second team as a “slight” espn.com/nba/story/_/id…9:43 PM
CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Celtics’ NBA Finals injury updates: Robert Williams III day-to-day with knee; Marcus Smart’s ankle good to go
https://t.co/owV3vkDgjb pic.twitter.com/QCJYIIql4c4:32 PM

Brady Hawk @BradyHawk305
Max Strus talks about his growth from where he came from to Marcus Smart, the DPOY, guarding him to start the series – 3:03 PM
Mark Murphy @Murf56
Marcus Smart averaged 36.4 minutes in 5 conf. finals games, despite thigh, foot and ankle issues on his right leg. Udoka: “No concern. Swelling will dissipate as time goes by. The pain tolerance thing, he can obviously play through a lot, and he did that and played heavy minutes. – 2:44 PM
Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
New via @SouichiTerada: Ime Udoka has ‘no concern’ about Marcus Smart’s ankle heading into NBA Finals masslive.com/celtics/2022/0…12:22 PM
Jeff Eisenband @JeffEisenband
Stephen Curry and Marcus Smart both prepping for their head-to-head NBA Finals matchup with golf. You love to see it. 🏀⛳️ pic.twitter.com/zlgUIZiZ0211:57 AM

Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Ime Udoka said Marcus Smart is fine and there is “no concern” on his availability heading into the playoffs. – 11:05 AM
Jay King @ByJayKing
Ime Udoka said there’s “no concern” about Marcus Smart physically entering the Finals. He has dealt with a number of health issues throughout the playoff run so far. – 11:05 AM
John Karalis @John_Karalis
Ime Udoka says Robert Williams is doing better and “should feel better with time in between, especially with these two days off in between games, as opposed to playing every other day.”
Adds there’s no concern about Marcus Smart – 11:05 AM
Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart have each scored at least 20 points in the same game five times this postseason.
The NBA record for must such games in a postseason is six. It’s been done four times, most recently by LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love (2016). pic.twitter.com/irEW3TopTv11:01 AM

Yaron Weitzman @YaronWeitzman
ICYMI, some @FOX Sports News/@FOXSports Celtics reading for these days off before the Finals:
– On Brad Stevens basically throwing a perfect game in his first season as GM: foxsports.com/stories/nba/ce…
– On how moving Marcus Smart to PG unlocked the Celtics’ greatness on both ends: – 10:17 AM
Jason Dumas @JDumasReports
I was on Boston sports talk radio today previewing Dubs-Celtics with the @WEEI crew.
I was asked how the Warriors feel about the Marcus Smart/Steph Curry play. I explained they’ve moved on but many felt it was unnecessary. @bradfo disagreed.
Made for great radio 😂 pic.twitter.com/OBdae0r8YP9:12 PM

More on this storyline

Jared Weiss: Marcus Smart: “The ankle is a pretty serious injury. I’m thankful to let alone play and still be walking. It hurt, but my mama always told me if you’re gonna play, you can’t make no excuses.” -via Twitter @JaredWeissNBA / June 1, 2022
Jared Weiss: Ime Udoka says that Marcus Smart’s rolled ankle will improve over time, but Rob Williams knee will continue to make him day to day throughout the Finals due to the surgery recovery & the bone bruise form colliding with Giannis. Both will be questionable for Game 1 of the Finals. -via Twitter @JaredWeissNBA / June 1, 2022