Courtney Lee adjusts to new role on C’s

Boston Herald

By Dan Duggan

NEW YORK — Courtney Lee doesn’t know how many minutes he’s going to play night-to-night and there almost certainly won’t be as many shots as the fifth-year veteran is accustomed to. But one thing Lee knows he can do for the Celtics [team stats] is bring energy and effort.

Lee did that last night in his most complete effort as a Celtic, scoring 13 points and grabbing a career-high nine rebounds in a 102-97 loss to the Nets.


“It’s something I need to start doing and be more consistent with it,” Lee said. “Instead of just trying to let the game come to me and figure it out, I need to be able to be the aggressor sometimes. That’s something that (Celtics coach Doc Rivers) has told me about and said he wanted me to do.”

It seems like that’s a message Rivers — and the team’s leaders — have been imparting frequently early this season. With a number of new faces trying to figure out their roles, Rivers wants the focus on playing hard and letting the rest work itself out.

“Courtney just came out and played,” Rivers said. “He didn’t think about if he was starting or not starting, how many minutes, who’s playing. He played basketball tonight. And when he does that, he’s a great basketball player. I thought he was our best defensive player on the floor. He was fantastic.”

Lee had the unenviable duty of defending both of New Jersey’s talented guards, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson. It was a task he was up to, and one that will be part of his role going forward.

“Being aggressive doesn’t mean just scoring,” Lee said. “I just need to make sure I have that mindset at all times, just to be aggressive.”

The nine rebounds were the result of opportunity and desire.

“The defensive scheme that we were in, we were having one of the bigs show on Joe Johnson when he was posting up so it was leaving two bigs down low,” Lee said. “We had to come back and help the bigs because they helped us when we needed help. I was just trying to get in and get my hands dirty a little bit.”

The Celtics are Lee’s fourth team, so he’s used to fitting into new surroundings. The adjustment hasn’t been smooth so far, but he’s confident things are heading in the right direction.

“It happens over time,” Lee said. “A couple games, a couple more practices — it’s still early in the season so everybody is still feeling out everything. The comfort level is going to come quick.”

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