Practice: Green In, Wallace Out

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4715017/practice-green-in-wallace-out


Practice: Green in, Wallace out
October, 13, 2014
OCT 13 1:35 PM ET
By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com





WALTHAM, Mass. -- Ten days after straining his left calf during an intrsquad scrimmage, Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green returned to practice Monday and the team is hopeful that he can make his preseason debut during Wednesday's exhibition game against the Toronto Raptors.

Despite wearing a compression sleeve over his left calf and admitting he's not quite 100 percent yet, Green got up shots before the team's afternoon practice and said there would be no limitations as he returned to basketball activities. Green, who played in every regular-season game the past two seasons, missed the team's first four exhibition games and expressed frustration at not being on the court.

"It’s been really tough," he said. "I’d rather be out on the court playing, but I’ve got to take care of my body first."

Green's absence has allowed newcomer Evan Turner to make a strong case for minutes, maybe even a starting role, while filling in at the small forward position. Celtics coach Brad Stevens has acknowledged competition for a couple of rotation roles, particularly as the team deals with injuries, but said the bottom line is that both Green and Turner will play heavy roles this season.

"I’ve given lots of thought to [the lineups]," Stevens said. "Jeff’s going to play most of his minutes, or maybe just over half of his minutes, at [small forward]. But he’ll also play some [power forward]. I think Evan has to play. Whether that’s starting or coming off the bench or whatever, Evan can get into the paint. That’s a huge critical thing for our team."

Asked about playing more power forward this season, Green said, "As long as I’m on the floor, that’s all that matters." Green said he envisions playing with Turner at times and said positions won't change the way he plays.


INJURY REPORT: WALLACE (KNEE) OUT THIS WEEK

Celtics veteran swingman Gerald Wallace underwent an MRI Sunday that revealed a bone bruise in his knee. After sitting out Saturday's game against the Knicks, he's expected to miss both of this week's preseason games as well.

"We were going to sit him anyway on Saturday and, actually, he mentioned it to [trainer] Ed [Lacerte] in the pregame ... he has a little knee swelling," said Stevens. "So they did an MRI [Sunday], he’s got a small bone bruise. So he’s going to be out, definitely the two games this week and I think he’s looking at it week-to-week right now."

The Celtics have been thin on available swingmen. Rookie James Young strained his left hamstring before the team's exhibition opener and is still considered week-to-week. "James Young is the same," Stevens said. "Progressing well, but still probably a week away."

Rajon Rondo (hand) was on the court before the team's practice, his left hand in a black wrap, dribbling and shooting. Stevens said recently that there's been no change in the team's initial 6-8 week timeline despite Rondo's involvement in non-contact drills.

Asked about his team's rash of injuries early in the preseason, Stevens didn't beg for sympathy.

"I think it’s just part of it," Stevens said before referencing injuries to the likes of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. "You look across the league and there are guys that are hurt, and there’s guys that have to be ready at the end of your bench. I’m going to start to talk to guys about where they fit in the rotation this week, probably after the two games this week, but our [players in roster spots] 11, 12 and 13 have to ready because that’s just the way this league works."


BACK TO WORK

After playing four games in six nights to start the exhibition season, the Celtics took Sunday off. A reporter jokingly asked Stevens if he took the opportunity to go apple picking, knowing full well the second-year coach spent much of his day prepping for the week ahead.

"I had a great day; we all had a great day," said Stevens. "It was a long first week and it was almost like, ‘Hey, if you’re not ready for this, we’re going to get you ready for this.’ We’re glad to be back at work today in the practice gym for at least two days, then get back on the bus again Wednesday."

The Celtics will play Wednesday's game against the Raptors in Portland, where their D-League affiliate the Maine Red Claws are based. But there are two days of practice first to fix what ailed Boston after consecutive losses to finish the first week of exhibition play at 2-2.

"Our focus is going to be on some of the things we need to clean up from Friday and Saturday’s games," Stevens said. "Then continue to install more from an offensive standpoint at the right pace.

"One of the things I try to do is throw a lot at them the first two days [of camp], then I haven’t done a lot in terms of new stuff over the last week or so because I wanted them to get better at that. I think we’ve done a lot of good things offensively; I’m not overly concerned about Saturday['s loss] because we played different lineups than we’ve played and [rookie] Dwight Powell hasn’t played [small forward] in practice and he’s played it in two games. That's just part of it. But now that we’re getting more bodies on the court, or at least we've got Jeff back on the court, I think we can start to add more."




bob



.

Interesting that Brad makes it a point to mention Powell as though he's a member of the rotation.

Here's hoping that Brad now begins to move in the direction of playing the games for real as the exhibition season winds down.  No more experimenting with neophytes down the stretch to see how they handle the pressure.  Play the guys who will be handling the pressure during the real games.

Sam