The Celtics [team stats] have lost four of their past seven games and are 4-5 during Kevin Garnett’s latest absence from the lineup.
There might be an inclination to look forward even more to his return, with Friday’s game against Portland the target. But that would be a mistake, according to Paul Pierce [stats].
“Every game you play with Kevin is going to help, but that’s (an excuse). We’ve got guys who are more than capable,” the C’s captain said after last night’s 99-90 loss to Dallas. “Rasheed (Wallace) is a very capable defender, but it isn’t about the individual, it’s about the team.
“We were without Kevin and won last year. We won seven, eight, nine games in a row without Kevin.”
Added coach Doc Rivers: “Kevin’s not in, so I’m not worrying about Kevin. He’s not in right now, and everybody else is. And they know their jobs. The voice of Kevin always helps. He holds everyone accountable. But that voice isn’t out there right now, and somebody else has to do it.”
Marbury to China
Stephon Marbury agreed to sign with a professional team in China, and no one on his last NBA team thinks his latest foray will fail.
Looking back at the guard’s bizarre series of Webcasts last summer, Rivers also wasn’t surpised that the process of finding a new home took him a while.
“I did not think he was done,” Rivers said. “I thought he still had a lot of basketball still left in him. I thought someone would actually pick him up this summer. But I don’t think that Web broadcast helped his cause at all. I think he’s going over there to show he can still play.”
Told that part of Marbury’s goal is to market his discount sneaker line - Starbury - in China, Rivers shrugged and said, “He’s a businessman, too.”
Including the playoffs, Marbury played 37 games with the Celtics last season. He told some that the team offered to bring him back for the veteran’s minimum this season, but Rivers said that scenario never was going to work.
“We had him for the right amount of time, which was good,” he said. “If he came back he would have wanted to play for more minutes, which is something you couldn’t blame him for.”
Instead, according to Ray Allen, Marbury now gets to showcase what is left of his ability and plot a proper return to the NBA.
“He can be successful over there,” Allen said. “If he can start playing well, he’ll get teams back here interested in him again. When he was here he clearly had a lot of basketball left in him. I don’t think he’s done if he goes over there and shows that he has some game left in him.”
Look who’s back
Pierce, who left Sunday’s practice after banging knees with teammate Shelden Williams, started alongside Wallace, who had missed the previous three games with a sore right foot.
“He’s good - just a ding,” Rivers said of Pierce (24 points in 34 minutes). “We still have to get it stronger, and that’s going to take some time. He’s OK, really. It looked bad, but he’s fine. It’s not going to hurt him, and we just have to keep strengthening that knee.”
Wallace, who fell into second-half foul trouble, received more monitoring.
“I’ll just play (Wallace) and watch,” Rivers said before the game. “You have to watch the two things with him - his foot and his lungs. He really hasn’t played.”
When Marquis Daniels (thumb surgery) returns - he’s expected back shortly after the All-Star break - don’t be surprised if Rivers also is cautious.
“With that hand we’re going to be extremely careful, obviously,” he said. “If he takes that cast off and it’s still painful we’re not going to let him play . . .”
King’s impact
Martin Luther King Day always will resonate with Rivers because of one very personal moment.
“It was the first day I ever saw my dad cry,” he said. “Martin Luther King (Jr.’s) death was the first time I had ever heard of Martin Luther King (Jr.). I was oblivious to the world at the time, and I came home, and my grandfather and dad were on the couch, and they both were crying.
“Then I remember watching the riots on the television. That had a tremendous impact. From that point on you immerse yourself in studying. I don’t know if that’s the best way to hear of something the first time, but it’s the most impacting way.”
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