Celtics suspend Marcus Smart for preseason finale

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Marcus Smart won't be on the court for the Boston Celtics' preseason game vs. the Miami Heat on Friday, but not because of anything health-related.

The Celtics suspended the veteran guard for the preseason finale due to breaching team rule. Head coach Ime Udoka addressed the situation during his Thursday press conference, though he did not reveal which rule Smart broke.

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“It’s internal. We've handled it. He's remorseful and we hold Marcus to a high standard," Udoka said. "We've made it clear from Day 1 so he’ll obviously be out tomorrow night. He's with us here on the trip. Just look forward to moving on from this growing and obviously abiding by the team rules and principles.

"Marcus is one of our leaders that we expect a lot from, he understands that. He's remorseful and we’ll move on from there.It's one of my rules. We talked about it from Day 1. Like I said, it's been handled internally. He won't play tomorrow and be ready for opening night.”

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski later reported Smart missed the team's flight to Orlando.

Smart was ruled out for Wednesday's preseason game vs. the Orlando Magic. The Celtics' injury report stated he was being rested along with Jayson Tatum, Dennis Schroder, and Josh Richardson.

Smart signed a four-year, $77 million contract extension with the Celtics during the offseason.

Friday's preseason finale vs. the Miami Heat is set for 6:30 p.m. ET.

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