Practice: Celtics Readying Reinforcements

by **bobheckler** Thu Jan 16, 2014 12:57 pm

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4710177/practice-cs-readying-reinforcements

Practice: C's readying reinforcements
January, 16, 2014
JAN 16 12:45 PM ET
By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

WALTHAM, Mass. -- While the impending return of Rajon Rondo should give the Boston Celtics their biggest boost, the team was readying additional reinforcements for a recently thinned roster.

Veteran big man Joel Anthony, obtained from the Miami Heat as part of Wednesday's three-way trade that sent MarShon Brooks and Jordan Crawford to the Golden State Warriors, was undergoing his routine physical at an area hospital while the Celtics gathered for an offday session.

Observing practice was Chris Johnson (no, not the same Chris Johnson the Celtics had for a bit a couple seasons ago), a D-League wing who was finalizing a 10-day contract to add additional depth for a team that operated with only 10 available bodies during Wednesday's win over the Toronto Raptors that ended a nine-game losing streak.

"I think we’re going to fill a 10-day contract here soon and Chris Johnson is here today from the great Dayton University," said Ainge, pandering to a beat reporter wearing a sweatshirt from that same institution. "So Chris has been playing very well, we need a wing player, we need someone who can shoot the ball, so Chris will add some depth to our team for now."

The Celtics are in need of wing help, not only due to recent trades, but after excusing Keith Bogans from the team due to his frustration over a lack of playing time. Ainge expounded on his comments Thursday morning detailing the situation, stressing that Bogans didn't have any sort of incident that served as a tipping point.

"There was no big incident. Keith, he’s been frustrated for a lot of the year, just because he hasn’t had a role," said Ainge. "Keith has started on a lot of teams in this league and he’s in his 11th year and I think his expectations were just different than what I thought was realistic. I shared with him what his realistic role was and I just didn’t think he was very happy with it. It was just better for him to go home, stay in shape in case we need him, but we’d rather have -- we’re going to play the guys that we have here that are really hungry to play and dying to play that we’re going to try to develop into better players."

Celtics coach Brad Stevens noted that Avery Bradley, who injured his right hand early in Wednesday's win over the Toronto Raptors, would sit out Thursday's session as a precaution.

bob

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