OAKLAND, Calif. — The book is far from closed in the Marcus Smart matter. While the team is said to be satisfied with the explanation behind the Wednesday incident in which he lacerated his right hand, he could still face a fine and/or suspension.

According to league sources briefed on the situation, Smart’s story checks out. There was a broken picture frame in the bathroom in his Beverly Hills hotel room, and glass was indeed found in his hand, requiring stitches. The Celtic guard’s anger was apparently raised over pictures posted by a female acquaintance on social media — pictures that have since been deleted.

Smart received stitches in Los Angeles and returned to Boston, where doctors examined him and determined he could miss approximately two weeks. According to one NBA source, it is within the Celtics’ right to levy punishment, possibly matching a suspension to the number of games Smart is forced to miss with the injury.

Coach Brad Stevens has said any such most penalties would “most likely be handled internally.”

Gridiron influence

Steve Kerr has stepped outside the basketball box when preparing to lead the Warriors. He spoke extensively with Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and has a fondness, too, for Bill Belichick.

“I’ve never met Bill; I’ve admired him from afar,” Kerr said. “I met with Bill Parcells before I took the Warriors job. I tried to meet with as many coaches as I could. Pete was the one I connected with because I felt like he and I were the most alike.

“I’m nothing like Belichick. We don’t operate the same way, but I have tremendous respect for him. He’s had an amazing run, and everybody has to do it their own way. That’s what every coach that I met with before I began coaching, when I asked their advice, they all said the same thing, ‘Be yourself.’ You can’t come in and try to be somebody else. If you are yourself, your players will feel that genuine dynamic of what you’re doing. And then you can be honest and coach them, and they’re going to know your word is good and true. So we’re all different people.

“We all have to have our own coaching styles, but I’m like everybody else. I marvel at what the Patriots have done.”

Asked if he was surprised that Belichick was a big influence for Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau, Kerr smiled and said, “For Thibs? No, not in the slightest bit.”

Adjust on fly

It’d be hard to find anyone who would have believed the Celtics would be in possession of the best record in the Eastern Conference this late in the season after watching Gordon Hayward go down with a fractured ankle on opening night.

While Kyrie Irving certainly feels for his fallen mate, he’s trying to maintain his focus.

“I mean, I’m just being present, man, every single opportunity to go out there and play the game that I love,” he said. “Obviously us losing a very, very intricate part of our team was hard. But also on the flip side it gave opportunities to a lot of our young guys that I don’t think they expected it. I don’t think I necessarily expected it (or) the coaches. But I know that we were preparing for anything and whatever was going to happen.

“I think we’ve done a great job of just weathering that storm of just whoever’s available being ready to play and being ready to have the same consistency whether you’re a starter or whether you’re the 12th guy coming off the bench. It’s just you’ve got to relish in the opportunities when coach puts you out there to play.”

As for how the Celts continually find ways to get through adversity, Irving said, “By just trusting what we have going on and trusting in our leaders, trusting our commitment to demanding excellence out of one another. It’s tough to be consistent, and that’s what the great teams do, the great players do. And good teams are always trying to figure that out, how to take that next step to being considered great. And it takes a while, so you’ve just got to enjoy the process itself of going through things. When you’re going through it, it sucks sometimes and it’s going to be challenging.”