It may have been nothing more than a momentary stinger, but Paul Pierce [stats] headed to the trainer’s room near the end of yesterday’s practice after colliding with Shelden Williams and taking a knee to his own right knee - the same one that had to be drained last month.
Pierce briefly re-emerged with a heavy ice pack on the knee before heading back to the locker room once practice ended.
“He got kneed in the exact same spot - it’s just amazing, the luck right now with little things like that,” said coach Doc Rivers. “That’s why he was so upset. He was like, it was starting to feel good. So we hope that he’s fine.”
Rivers was encouraged, however, by the progress of Rasheed Wallace, who is recovering from a sore foot, and even Kevin Garnett, who ran through sets with the first team.
Rivers added, however, that this progress doesn’t mean Garnett (knee) will return before Friday’s game against Portland.
“He won’t play before Friday, and he may not play Friday, because we have to get him into some active stuff,” he said.
Campaign begins
With the All-Star break roughly a month away, it’s that time of the season when Rivers will start calling his fellow coaches to lobby for his own players. This year’s list of deserving Celtics [team stats] will be longer than usual.
“I think all of them should make it,” he said. “You assume Kevin and Paul, and the other three you have to call for, and get lied to. Of course I’ll vote - I think every coach tells you that. Every once in a while you’ll get one who says, no, I’m voting for my guy, and it will hurt him. I like the honesty. At least you know.”
Rivers said he likes the process even if, by opening the vote up to China, he admits that the process has been “skewed.”
“It’s a powerful vote,” he said with a laugh. “If I could get the China vote I would run for president. It does skew things, but it’s part of the process, and it’s only the starting five.”
Ray Allen, who believes the vote should be divided differently, cited the example of Tracy McGrady, who is on indefinite leave while Houston looks for a trade partner for him, yet ranks second among West guards in the voting - mainly, it has been argued, because he is the teammate of Chinese icon Yao Ming.
Kendrick Perkins [stats] added that he thinks the vote should be taken away from fans.
“They’re showing up anyway,” he said with a shrug.
Trouble at home
Heading into tonight’s game against Dallas, the Celtics have lost more games at home (six) than on the road (five). Their Garden presence is clearly a work in progress.
“We haven’t established that yet, but we plan on it,” said Rivers. “I’ve seen teams that don’t do that until the playoffs. But we do want to establish this as a place. Right now, every time you lose it tells somebody that they can beat you.
“It’s only good when you get players. You put bad players in a great building, you’re gonna lose. If you put great players in a bad building, you’re gonna win.”
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