March 10, 2012
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has discussed trading Ray Allen to the Pacers, according to an ESPN report on Friday.
``When Danny and I talked about trading for Ray, he wanted Tyler Hansbrough and a first-round pick,'' Pacers general manager Larry Bird said.
``If that's the value he's putting on Ray Allen, he ain't getting it. That tells me he's in no hurry to trade him.''
Coach Doc Rivers said he did not expect the Celtics to be involved in a trade before Thursday's deadline.
``It's been pretty quiet as far as my conversations, and that's unusual,'' Rivers said before theCeltics' 104-86 win Friday over the Trail Blazers.
But Rivers added that he has told Ainge he would welcome talented acquisitions.
Asked if the Celtics are concerned with chemistry issues regarding personnel, Rivers said, ``I'm not concerned with it this year as far as on the floor. I told Danny, whoever we bring in would probably have one less practice than all of us. If you can get a better talent this year, the chemistry thing is off, and that's dangerous to tell Danny.
``I look at chemistry in a lot of ways. Chemistry has been good all season as far as guys getting along in the locker room. As far as chemistry on the floor, it's been very difficult. It's not just the amount of games, it's the fact we haven't been healthy. Take that, and take away all the practices, and it's just been difficult. At the end of the day we have to get it right.''
Grand achievement
Paul Pierce (22 points) increased his career point total to 22,072, while becoming the 16th NBA player to participate in at least 1,000 games in a single-franchise career.
Allen followed a scoreless performance in Philadelphia with a 22-point output.
``Ray is a shooter, you know?'' Rivers said. ``I mean, that's what makes shooters and scorers great. Ray, Paul, they have an extremely short memory. Ray can have two, three, four, five bad games in a row and the next game make five threes.
``It's just he believes in his craft and his skill, so that's what makes him so good.''
Shorthanded situation
Jermaine O'Neal (wrist), Mickael Pietrus (knee), and Chris Wilcox (personal reasons) were unavailable for the Celtics. Their status for Sunday's visit to Los Angeles to play the Lakers has not been determined.
This week, Pietrus failed to score in an overtime win over Houston (97-92) and in a loss to Philadelphia (103-71), and was 2 for 15 on 3-pointers in his previous five games.
``It's his knee more than anything,'' Rivers said of Pietrus. ``We're just going to sit him out, and hopefully he plays Sunday. It just keeps flaring up.
``If we could get the game back the other night [at Philadelphia], especially the way it turned out, it would have been nice to not play him. You have to watch him because he'll play, regardless.''
On the rebound
The Celtics had been decisively outrebounded by the Rockets (57-38), 76ers (54-35), and Portland (53-32) in their last three games.
When asked about solutions to the problem, Rivers replied, ``Shot selection is always one. Other than that, you are what you are on the glass. We can be better, our guards have to be better.
``I know that sounds silly when we're talking about rebounding, but for us, our guards have to be better. [Rajon] Rondo and [Pierce] are capable rebounders and they have to be better.''
It was an accident
Trail Blazers guard Elliot Williams sustained a post-practice shoulder injury on Thursday and missed the game. Williams will return to Portland Saturday for treatment, according to coach Nate McMillan.
After practice concluded, an attempted dunk by Williams was blocked by Chris Johnson, who appeared in four games for the Celtics last season, leading to the injury.
``That happened after we left the building, so I didn't see it,'' MacMillan said. ``They played some one-on-one. He went in hard - everything he does is real hard - Chris tried to block it, and it threw his arm out of place. Guys have been doing that all season long, they're trying to work and get some play, they have to work out. And it's just one of those unfortunate situations.''
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