The Boston Celtics have some significant players recovering from injuries at a less-than-ideal time.

Of course, the more unfortunate one is Jaylen Brown, who cut his hand while trying to pick up a broken glass vase he had knocked over while watering plants at home. Marcus Smart, meanwhile, has been out the last three games with a neck issue.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had some relatively positive updates on Brown and Smart during a media scrum on Tuesday.

• “It’s getting better,” Mazzulla said of Brown’s injury. “He wasn’t able to practice [Tuesday], but he was out there for everything. Still no restrictions heading into Game 1.”

  Mazzulla is targeting Thursday or Friday for Brown to return to practicing in full, so it sounds like the C’s dodged a bullet and they’ll have their star guard back and a full go for Game 1 on Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks.

• Joe Mazzulla provides updates on Jaylen Brown & Marcus Smart pic.twitter.com/YSPQ1N1Hp8

  — Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) April 11, 2023

• Smart is already practicing, and Mazzulla indicated that the neck problem is in the rearview mirror for him.

  “He’s good. He’s ramped up,” Mazzulla said on Smart. “He was great today in practice, lively. He said he felt good. So, he’ll be ready to go.”

• Zolak & Bertrand | Joe Mazzulla Joins The Show

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• The Hawks beat the Miami Heat 116-105 in their play-in game on Tuesday night, setting the stage for them and the Celtics to do battle in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs. With or without Brown or Smart in the lineup, the C’s should be able to dispatch of the Hawks with ease and move on to the second round.

  The opposite result would be a disaster for a team that was in the NBA Finals last year and looks poised to finish the job this time around – as long as they can get past the Milwaukee Bucks without home court advantage. We shall see. But either way, it looks like they’ll be at full strength for Game 1, which takes place Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.

  Click here for complete Boston Celtics coverage at 985TheSportsHub.com.

  Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.

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