Celtics' Marcus Smart Suspended for Using 'Threatening Language' Toward Official

Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

The NBA suspended Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart for one game without pay Wednesday for "directing threatening language toward a game official." 

As a result of the punishment, Smart will be out of the lineup when the Celtics play the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens thought the timing of the announcement was a bit unfortunate with roughly two hours until tipoff to reconfigure his lineup.

"I'd agree with that," Stevens said. "I knew they were looking into it but I thought when we got [to] the late afternoon, there wouldn't be anything."

Boston was already set to be without Kemba Walker because of an oblique strain.

Smart's suspension-worthy actions came in Tuesday's 119-115 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. His frustrations at the official may have manifested from his own poor performance. The seventh-year veteran shot 4-of-17 from the floor and 1-of-10 from three-point range en route to a 14-point night.

While not a massive setback in the bigger picture, the NBA's decision represents yet another hurdle for the Celtics a season that hasn't gone according to plan. As the team prepares to take the court against Charlotte, it sits sixth in the Eastern Conference at 32-30 and owns the same record as the seventh-place Miami Heat.

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Falling into the play-in tournament is a very real possibility for Stevens' squad.