Quote:

 

Celtics Team Report

Yahoo! Sports
3 hours, 25 minutes ago

Getting Inside

The Celtics made two moves before the trade deadline, dealing away Sam Cassell and Patrick O’Bryant and getting conditional second-round draft picks in return.

The point of both moves was to get down from the 15-man maximum roster and be ready to go after players who waived by March 1.

On Thursday, Boston sent O’Bryant to Toronto for Will Solomon, who was then moved to Sacramento for the pick.

“We like Patrick,” Celtics president Danny Ainge said. “We think Patrick has a bright future. But we feel like we can upgrade with a veteran at that position in the next few weeks. We’ll just have to wait and see who becomes available. I have no idea who that will be, but we’ll have a priority list and see what we can do from there.”

The Celts couldn’t get the big man or wing player they wanted in a trade.

“We were very active, and we had many conversations,” Ainge said. “But we had to come out of anything we did with open roster spots. We looked at a lot of things that would do that for us—three-for-two deals, three-for-one deals, two-for-ones. But as typically happens with all your talk, you just end up realizing that good trades are hard to come by.”

Coach Doc Rivers, whose team next plays Sunday in Phoenix, is looking to see if the Celts can get a veteran or two, but he thinks the people on hand now can win another title.

“I’m not worried about it,” he said. “If we end up with what we’ve got, we’re doing pretty well, so we’ll take that. If we can add to our team, we’d love to—as long as it doesn’t take away our team. But we’re fine though.

“We’re not worried. We like our team. Bottom line, we like our team. And if we can add to it, it’d be great. But if we don’t, our record says we’re a good team—and we’re pretty good with what we have. So there’s no need to add, but if you can improve your team, you always want to.”

Jazz 90, Celtics 85: The Celtics played without Kevin Garnett during the second half Thursday in Utah and still nearly ran their road winning streak to 10 games. But Matt Harpring and Deron Williams hit big jumpers at the end, and the Jazz scored 30 points in the last quarter for the victory.

Garnett left the game with 1:08 to go in the first half after straining his right knee. He appeared to come down wrong after missing connection with Paul Pierce on a lob pass. Garnett came out for the halftime warmup, but the Celts decided to take no chances with him.

“He wanted to run, but we have a long season and I’m not taking a risk by putting him on the floor,” coach Doc Rivers said.

Pierce led the Celts with 20 points, but he made just two of nine shots in the fourth quarter.

The Celtics missed 10 of their 29 free throws.

Notes, Quotes

• F Kevin Garnett, who flew back to Boston to be examined after injuring his right knee in Thursday’s loss, learned that he will be sidelined two to three weeks. The diagnosis from team doctor Brian McKeon was a muscle strain behind the knee.

• Celtics management isn’t interested in bringing Sam Cassell back for now, but his ex-teammates are.

“Hopefully we can find a way to get him back,” Paul Pierce said. “I’m not sure right now. We’ll probably know something in a couple of days, but right now it is what it is. We’ve just got to wait and see.

“He was a guy who was a motivator on the sideline, a guy who brought experience, a good locker room guy. That’s something we’re going to miss about him.”

Said Kevin Garnett of a Cassell return, “I hope so. I hope that’s a possibility. I hope we’re able to do that. I think it’s good for the team from a chemistry standpoint and being upbeat. … It’s definitely quieter around here. You can tell the presence is not here.”

• Tony Allen will be out at least until the playoffs after being diagnosed with torn ligaments in his left thumb and having surgery Wednesday.

“As far as depth on the bench, Tony might have been the one guy you couldn’t lose, and we lost him,” coach Doc Rivers said. “When they first told me (Allen would be out) four weeks, I said that’s (not true). I know it takes longer than that because I went through that thing. I had the exact same injury.”

Quote To Note: “We’re always looking to improve.”—Coach Doc Rivers, noting that the Celts are still trying to acquire players even after the trade deadline.

Roster Report

Rotation: Starters—Point guard Rajon Rondo, Shooting guard Ray Allen, Small forward Paul Pierce, Power forward Kevin Garnett, Center Kendrick Perkins. Bench—Guard Eddie House, Center Leon Powe, Forward Glen Davis, Guard Gabe Pruitt, Forward Brian Scalabrine.

Player Notes:

• F Brian Scalabrine returned Thursday after missing three weeks with two concussions. He finished with five points and six fouls.

• G Ray Allen made both his free throws at Utah to run his streak of consecutive makes to 67. Larry Bird holds the franchise record at 71.

• G/F J.R. Giddens was recalled from Utah of the D-League on Thursday. The trade of C Patrick O’Bryant left the Celtics with just 11 healthy bodies.

Medical Watch:

• G Tony Allen will be out eight weeks after surgery to repair his left thumb on Feb. 18.

• F Kevin Garnett strained his right knee Thursday in Utah, and he will be sidelined two to three weeks.