Mickael Pietrus needs knee surgery

By Jackie MacMullan and Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

BOSTON -- Celtics reserve swingman Mickael Pietrus said he will require arthroscopic surgery on his ailing right knee this summer, but said the pain is not enough to keep him from participating in the playoffs.

"(The knee) is bothering me a little bit, but I told you guys, I'm going to keep going," Pietrus said. "It's something I'll worry about getting done in the summertime. (Team doctor Brian McKeon) told me he'd take a look at it in the summer. It's not a big problem -- it's something that can be resolved in 15 minutes. I look forward to the summer -- after the parade."

Asked later if he would require arthroscopic surgery, the same sort of procedure he underwent last offseason on the knee and needed extended time to recover, Pietrus confirmed that's what he intends to undergo.

"They need to clean out some of the tissue in there," he said. "It is hurting a little bit, not as much as it used to. It can wait."

Pietrus also hinted that he wants to come back to Boston next season.

"These guys in here want me back, so when July 1 comes, I want to be as healthy as I can be," he said.

Pietrus suffered a Grade 3 concussion while playing against the Sixers in March, and he admitted to still being a bit skittish in attacking the basket.

"I'm glad God protected me," he said. "I'm still afraid of falling again."

As for the rest of the Celtics, coach Doc Rivers said before Monday's Game 2, "Everybody's ready to go, which is good."

Asked about the importance of Game 2, Rivers said, "I just think each game is a beast of its own and you just focus on that game. Game 1 was the most important game, now Game 2 is. You look at the other side of it, they're looking at they'd like to get both -- they didn't -- so they want to get one. Then the whole cycle turns our way (when Boston travels to Philadelphia). We just have to keep playing."