duncan228
02-10-2011, 12:30 AM
Hit the link for the whole piece.
Celtics may finally need reinforcements (http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/columns/story?columnist=forsberg_chris&id=6103795)
By Chris Forsberg
ESPNBoston.com
...Here's what has happened since that game in Los Angeles:
• Shaquille O'Neal returned to the shelf with an inflamed Achilles, the latest in a series of maladies.
• Semih Erden sat out Monday's game with a lingering right adductor strain that appears related to the groin injury he's battled at times this season; he said he's uncertain how long he'll be out.
• Jermaine O'Neal underwent surgery on his left knee when his rehab did little good, sidelining him for six to eight weeks and leaving the Celtics hoping for a late March/early April return at best.
• Marquis Daniels suffered a bruised spinal cord and will miss at least a month as the Celtics evaluate whether he'll be able to return to the court after a frightening incident that saw him taken off the Garden floor on a stretcher.
On Monday in Charlotte, Rivers said the team will take a wait-and-see approach with Daniels before deciding whether a roster move is necessary, but he admitted a long-term absence likely would force the perimeter-thin Celtics to add a swingman.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, who had stressed for the first three-plus months of the season how much he liked his 15-man roster, echoed Rivers' sentiment Tuesday.
"We may be looking at the trade deadline to make a move,'' Ainge said. "And not just for the short term. We'll see how Marquis does. I like our team. But the Marquis situation could give us something to think about at the perimeter. We'll just have to see where he is."
...But tweaking the roster would be no simple task. Adding someone to the roster would require removing a contract, and all 15 are currently guaranteed.
A trade negates that hurdle, but there simply are not a lot of desireable contracts on this team -- at least in terms of players the Celtics would want to part with or whose contracts would attract much in return.
So for now, the Celtics find themselves in wait-and-see mode, which is pretty much where they've been since the season started, thanks to injuries. Every time they seem on the cusp of getting back to full strength -- like that day in Los Angeles -- something crops up to provide another detour.
"You've got to keep rolling; there's nothing you can do about it," Rivers said. "I try not to live in the past, the what ifs. We can't worry about it. We've got to keep playing."
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/columns/story?columnist=forsberg_chris&id=6103795
Celtics may finally need reinforcements (http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/columns/story?columnist=forsberg_chris&id=6103795)
By Chris Forsberg
ESPNBoston.com
...Here's what has happened since that game in Los Angeles:
• Shaquille O'Neal returned to the shelf with an inflamed Achilles, the latest in a series of maladies.
• Semih Erden sat out Monday's game with a lingering right adductor strain that appears related to the groin injury he's battled at times this season; he said he's uncertain how long he'll be out.
• Jermaine O'Neal underwent surgery on his left knee when his rehab did little good, sidelining him for six to eight weeks and leaving the Celtics hoping for a late March/early April return at best.
• Marquis Daniels suffered a bruised spinal cord and will miss at least a month as the Celtics evaluate whether he'll be able to return to the court after a frightening incident that saw him taken off the Garden floor on a stretcher.
On Monday in Charlotte, Rivers said the team will take a wait-and-see approach with Daniels before deciding whether a roster move is necessary, but he admitted a long-term absence likely would force the perimeter-thin Celtics to add a swingman.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, who had stressed for the first three-plus months of the season how much he liked his 15-man roster, echoed Rivers' sentiment Tuesday.
"We may be looking at the trade deadline to make a move,'' Ainge said. "And not just for the short term. We'll see how Marquis does. I like our team. But the Marquis situation could give us something to think about at the perimeter. We'll just have to see where he is."
...But tweaking the roster would be no simple task. Adding someone to the roster would require removing a contract, and all 15 are currently guaranteed.
A trade negates that hurdle, but there simply are not a lot of desireable contracts on this team -- at least in terms of players the Celtics would want to part with or whose contracts would attract much in return.
So for now, the Celtics find themselves in wait-and-see mode, which is pretty much where they've been since the season started, thanks to injuries. Every time they seem on the cusp of getting back to full strength -- like that day in Los Angeles -- something crops up to provide another detour.
"You've got to keep rolling; there's nothing you can do about it," Rivers said. "I try not to live in the past, the what ifs. We can't worry about it. We've got to keep playing."
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/columns/story?columnist=forsberg_chris&id=6103795