Portland vs. Boston: Garnett returns while Roy heads home

The injury report is decidedly in the Celtics favor when they face the Trail Blazers tonight at TD Garden.

Brandon Roy, the Blazers' best player, will not play. Kevin Garnett, the Celtics' best player, will play.

Kevin Garnett, the Celtics' emotional leader and defensive anchor, will play for the first time since injuring his knee in late December. The Celtics have struggled without Garnett and they need him in the lineup if they are going to make a serious run at the title.

"We know we're going to be better when Kevin comes back," forward Paul Pierce told reporters Wednesday. "Obviously he makes us a better team on both ends of the court."

The Celtics appeared to be in position for another run at an NBA title when they won at Orlando Christmas Day and pushed their record to 23-5, before slumping without Garnett.

Garnett engaged in a full practice Tuesday for the first time since hyperextending his surgically repaired right knee in late December. The Celtics also said Garnett didn't feel any lingering pain from the Tuesday practice during a walkthrough before the team's game at Detroit Wednesday night.

Garnett's return couldn't have come soon enough for the Celtics, who have lost three consecutive games, four of the last five and six of the 10 games that Garnett missed. They've also lost three consecutive games at home and their record has fallen to 27-13.

"These are problems you shouldn't have when you have the goals that we have," Boston coach Doc Rivers told reporters after the Celtics' 92-86 loss at Detroit. "I know it's the dog days and everybody's going through stuff right now, but we're self-imposing our (issues) right now."

Garnett, a 6-foot-11 forward, is averaging 15 points and 7.6 rebounds a game, but his value to the Celtics go far beyond numbers. Garnett is known as one of the NBA's most intense players and his return to should help the Celtics rediscover the focus that has been missing during their almost monthlong slump.

"We've got to look ourselves in the mirror as individuals and get better. That's all it is," Pierce told reporters Wednesday. "We know who we are. We're a defensive team, one of the best defensive teams when we focus and put our mind to it. It's about getting back to the basics and doing all the little things."

Boston scored just 30 second-half points in the loss at Detroit. But the Celtics are acutely aware that their current issues are more than a lack of scoring and run deeper than Garnett's absence.

"When Kevin gets back, we still have to grow as a team," Rivers told reporters Wednesday. "The way I look at it is with him out, our growth has been stunted. When he comes back, it'll continue our growth, but it's not the answer yet. We still have to grow as a team."

When Garnett was injured, the Celtics did not have the depth and youth to fall back on that Portland did when players started falling.

Paul Pierce, 32, is in his 12th season and had fluid drained from his knee that forced him to miss five games in late December. Ray Allen, 34, is midway through his 14th season and has battled ankle problems for the past five seasons. Garnett, 36, is playing in his 15th season and has gone through yet another knee injury. And he was replaced in the lineup by former Blazer Rasheed Wallace, 35, who also is in his 15th season.

Losing one player is nothing to the Trail Blazers, who would have been at a size disadvantage against Boston even without Garnett in the lineup. In addition to losing Roy, who went to Seattle Thursday to get a second opinion on his injured hamstring, Portland is still without Nicolas Batum, Travis Outlaw, Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla.

But the Celtics have too many issues of their own to sort through to worry about opponents. Frustration is mounting within the team. That's where Garnett will provide leadership.

"It'll be a positive to get him back," Pierce said. "It's just good to have him out there, his presence. You feel and you see it when he's on the court."