Smart: Punching glass almost ended my season

The moral of the story: Don't punch glass.

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart said Wednesday that he barely avoided tearing tendons in his right hand, which would have ended his season, when he expressed his frustration by punching a glass picture frame in January.

In fact, doctors suggested that he'd been so lucky, he should play the lottery.

"(Doctors) said the two tendons that ran along the pinky area, the main tendons, and literally the glass was sitting right in between them," Smart said, according to ESPN's Chris Forsberg. "So, they said 'You should go play the lotto or something because you missed your tendons.'"

Had he cut the tendons, Smart added, "I probably would have had to have surgery. I would have been done for the year."

Smart punched the frame in a Los Angeles hotel in late January and hasn't played since. He returned to practice Wednesday and expects to suit up Friday against the Detroit Pistons.

The injury was to Smart's shooting hand. While he owns a sub-36 career field-goal percentage, he remains a key piece of the Celtics' rotation because of his ability to guard five positions and affect games defensively.