Celtics' Smart unable to complete practice Wednesday

Marcus Smart seemed on track to make a quick recovery from a left ankle sprain so severe he had to be stretchered off the court, but the Celtics' optimism about their rookie point guard's status is starting to look premature.

There was initially a slight hope that Smart would be able to return as early as this past weekend. When he couldn't go, the Celtics slated him to practice on Wednesday.

It was his first practice since the injury suffered on Nov. 7, and as ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg reports, Smart couldn't get all the way through it, removing himself after participating in part of the session.

"I think, obviously, you want him to be as close to pre-injury (health) as possible, otherwise he shouldn’t be full-go," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said before the practice. "Is there a transition period? Absolutely. But sometimes in those first couple days, you’re so excited to be back out that you actually play pretty darn well. So it’s just a matter of him getting back out here and it’s more about the conditioning than anything else right now, just because he hasn’t done anything on the court, physically, as far as 5-on-5, in the last three weeks."

The Celtics have another practice session Thursday - before a rare Friday matinee against the Chicago Bulls - which could give Smart another chance to work himself closer to game shape. The ostensible setback isn't encouraging, but Stevens isn't sweating it just yet.

"He’s done his rehab diligently and done it well, and he’s stuck to the game plan as far as coming in here multiple times a day and going above and beyond," Stevens said. "So he’s doing what he’s supposed to do and this is the appropriate time frame."

Smart struggled offensively in his first five NBA games before getting hurt, shooting just 30.6 percent from the field, but he mostly made up for those deficiencies at the defensive end, where the Celtics were 6.8 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor.