Celtics Notebook: Johnson plays big through foot pain

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2015/12/celtics_notebook_johnson_plays_big_through_foot_pain



Celtics Notebook: Johnson plays big through foot pain



Mark Murphy Monday, December 28, 2015






Credit: Nancy Lane
Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder steals the ball from New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony in the 3rd quarter as the Boston Celtics take on the New York Knicks at the TD Garden in Boston on Sunday,December 27, 2015. Staff Photo by Nancy Lane



Amir Johnson left the locker room last night in the same therapeutic walking boot that he’s worn since coming down with a painful case of plantar fasciitis two weeks ago.

The difference is that after a two-game absence, the Celtics big man played in his second straight game and produced against New York’s big front line with eight points, seven rebounds, two blocks and the kind of interior defensive presence this team will need the rest of the way.

Johnson also slept in a different boot, and is learning how to treat this strange injury — an inflamed tendon on the bottom of his left foot that only rest can completely cure.

“It won’t go away. You just have to treat it and take time off when you can,” Johnson said. “I’m in this boot just to keep the pressure off. It’s my first time having it. The best thing is to treat it until it goes away.

Johnson was asked how closely his minutes need to monitored.

“I don’t know, man,” he said. “I just give the team what I have, and when I’m on the bench I just keep hot pads on it so it doesn’t freeze up. I just have to be ready to go. If I’m really hurting I have to let coach know. One thing you can do is freeze a little dixie cup of ice. Start icing it down. I treat it by sleeping in a night boot. That’s the best I can do on this injury.”

Coach Brad Stevens, asked if the 22 minutes Johnson logged is representative of how his playing time has to be restricted, shook his head.

“I didn’t know if he was still hurting a little bit on the second night of a back-to-back, coming off of what he came off of, or if it was just wind early,” Stevens said of Johnson’s improved play over the last three quarters of last night’s 100-91 win against the New York Knicks. “But he did a lot of good things, and like I said (Saturday), he’s really important because he gives us something that differentiates himself from our other bigs.”


Smart return

Marcus Smart reappeared after an 18-game, knee-related absence, and the result, if nothing else, was an energy boost. He finished with six points on 2-for-6 shooting, including a 3-pointer, and had a predictable influence on the pressure the Celtics were able to throw at the Knicks.

But above all, the Celtics guard doesn’t want to disrupt the progress this team is clearly making.

“I don’t want to come back and disrupt the flow. I want to add to it and keep it going,” said Smart. “Just kind of help these guys out, even from an emotional standpoint, they’ve been drained. It’s hard being out there without one of your players, without one of your teammates, regardless of who it is. At some point that’s going to catch up to you.”

As such, Smart certainly isn’t asking for his starting job back — not with the Celtics now owners of a four-game winning streak.

“That’s not up to me,” he said. “Those guys have been playing very well with Isaiah (Thomas) and Avery (Bradley) in the starting lineup so I don’t want to mess anything up and keep the rhythm going and if it means I have to come off the bench for this team to keep winning games then I’ll come off the bench.”

Instead, Smart has to focus on getting his legs and conditioning back in order.

“We’ll find out. There’s nothing like basketball shape as far as running up and down the court, as far as playing and getting into it,” Stevens said. “So we’ll see. But it hasn’t been easy early on to do what he needs to do because he wasn’t able to be on his feet very much. But in the last couple of weeks he’s been progressively doing more and more and more.”

Equally important for Smart, in the wake of a knee injury, is that his knees are once again functioning after his long absence.

“I’ve been doing almost (everything),” he said. “Cutting, playing defense, one-on-one, two-on-two, a little bit of three-on-three, contact, non-contact, jumping, the basics.

“You can do all this stuff by yourself, but until you’re out there with other guys and contact and getting on the floor, you get that sense of, ‘OK, this is what it feels like to be back out there.”


Impressed observer

The Celtics went 10-8 during Smart’s absence. Watching from the bench and on television was predictably rough for him. But Smart was also impressed.

“They’ve been playing very well,” he said. “The games where we have lost, we were right there, it was just one or two things that we probably should have done differently. For the most part, they’ve been playing very well and hopefully I can just come in and keep the momentum going, winning the three games that we won and keep the momentum going and keep winning games.” . . .

David Lee missed his second straight game with a sore lower back.



bob
MY NOTE: Amir will probably continue to have his plantar fasciitis problems for most of the season. Next man up!! Opportunities for Kelly, Lee and, dare I say it, Mickey? We're playing the Lakers, Brad. If you're going to give someone a day off that might be a good one.


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