Doc Rivers hopes for Mickael Pietrus by playoffs

Boston Herald
By Steve Bulpett

MINNEAPOLIS — There is still no word on when Mickael Pietrus will be able to take the tests that will determine when he can resume playing, but Doc Rivers doesn’t hold out much hope he’ll be on the court before the playoffs.

“I can’t imagine it being any sooner,” the Celtics [team stats] coach said before last night’s 100-79 win against Minnesota. “When I talked to him two days ago, he was talking about next week. But he has a concussion. That’s the way I looked at the conversation. But I don’t know. He may be right, but I doubt that. I would think with the severity of that injury, we would be very happy if he could return by the playoffs.”


As for an update, Rivers said, “He texted me today, so at least he can do that. I know that sounds crazy, but after a concussion, he couldn’t have done that four days ago, so that’s progress.”

Allen’s setback

Ray Allen’s comeback from a sore right ankle took a late twist yesterday.

He expected to play against the Timberwolves, but he wound up missing his fifth straight game after the ankle didn’t respond well enough as he went through his usual early shooting routine.

“He went through shootaround,” Rivers said. “He looked OK. I personally didn’t think he looked great, but at that time he was playing. And then when I got to the arena I was informed he was not playing. We’re just going to keep working at it, and eventually he’ll be out there.”

Even when he was hoping to play, Allen admitted he probably pushed things by continuing to play on the recent eight-game trip after hurting the ankle in Los Angeles.

“I still have swelling in it, and I had it the whole time — like the whole road trip — but I just played through it,” he said. “Obviously in Philly it came to a head.

“To me, I know my body extremely well. So you know sometimes when you deal with injuries, you kind of push through it and you know your body’s going to overcome it. But in this situation for me it never responded back. It never came back.” . . .

Jermaine O’Neal underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure on his left wrist yesterday at New England Baptist Hospital. The day before, Chris Wilcox underwent successful aortic reconstruction at the Cleveland Clinic.

Kevin times two

The marquee matchup last night was Kevin Garnett against Kevin Love, but the Timberwolves big man notes that the comparison only goes so far.

Love dealt with Garnett as an opponent, but it wasn’t that many years ago that he was a fan.

“I was (a) jersey owner of Garnett back in the day,” he said. “Him and Tim Duncan and (Chris) Webber. Those are guys I looked up to when I was very young, and there’s guys still in this league that I’m fortunate enough to play against. It’s a dream come true for me, but I know at the end of the day I have to come out and help my team win a basketball game by any means.”

Love has also developed a relationship with another Celtics [team stats] big man of some note: Bill Russell.


“The last time I talked to him was All-Star (weekend),” Love said. “I actually talked to him Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and I got to talk to him even during the game when he was sitting courtside. . . . Looking back and seeing what he’s done, it’s pretty unbelievable.”

As for last night’s showdown, Garnett finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Love also had a double-double with 22 points and 11 boards.

Family dynamic

Speaking on WEEI yesterday, Austin Rivers discussed the possibility of playing for his father with the Celtics.

“If that was to happen, I would love to,” said Rivers, who is leaving Duke after one season. “I would love to play for any organization in the NBA. That’s my dream. It would be great. It would be different. It would be an interesting aspect just to play for my dad.”

He later added, “If this was to happen, I would want him to treat me like anybody else. If I’m messing up, I want him to be hard on me. If I’m doing good, I want him to pat me on the back. That’s the way he coaches. . . . I don’t want anything handed to me. I never have my whole life. I would have to mature and accept that responsibility. That’s one of the things you look forward to when you decide to go pro.”

“Two totally different players,” Love said. “The only thing that’s really the same about us is our first names. It’s really an unfair comparison. He’s a once-in-a-generation, once-in-a-lifetime type player. If I could do some of the things he did for this franchise, it would be nice.

“His time has come and gone with the Timberwolves. Now it’s my turn to play power forward for this team.”

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Kevin Love seems like he has finally grown up both on and off the court. Seems like a good kid and a major talent. Too bad he will wither on the vine in MN.

MEK

There is always free agency. This kid looks like a Celtic!

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While it would be an exceptional stroke of luck to get Love in free agency, he is signed through 2015 and has a player option for the following season. I wonder what the Celtics will look like by then. For that matter, I wonder what Love will look like after several more years with the Wolves. He looked plenty disgusted on several occasions last night. Of course the Wolves were missing several key players.

Hard to believe that Love's pay this season is less than $5 million.

Sam

Sam,

You never know. If we gain more chips, perhaps he becomes a trade potential all though I think it is a long shot. We will need to wait this out I guess.

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