<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Danny Ainge found himself a little too close for comfort with a Fox Sports Net cameraman?s lens last night during the Celtics? 102-94 loss to the Phoenix Suns. The Celtics? director of basketball operations, after turning to find the camera an estimated 12 inches from his face, had a stern message that was animated enough to catch the attention of some nearby onlookers at the TD Banknorth Garden. ?I asked him not to do that anymore,? said Ainge, who denied a report that he grabbed the cameraman. ?Absolutely not. That didn?t happen.? Wally needs sleep The week?s gauntlet ? from the birth of his second child to the back-and-forth travel with his new team ? had Wally Szczerbiak ready to nod off last night. And we?re not strictly talking about his five-point, 1-for-9 shooting performance in the loss. ?Normally when I shoot 1-for-9 I can?t sleep, but I guarantee I?ll be able to sleep tonight,? he said. ?I need some rest and I?m trying to get over this cold, so I just have to regroup and get a practice in (today). ?My teammates are making it easy and I?m getting good looks. I just have to knock them down.? West misses out No one could conceive of why Delonte West was left off the sophomore side of the NBA?s rookie-sophomore game, which will be played on Feb. 17 during All-Star weekend. Players for both teams were announced yesterday, including the unusual inclusion of T.J. Ford on the sophomore team. The Bucks point guard missed all of last season, his second, with a neck injury, and was thus given a second-year pass. ?That?s really the big shock,? Al Jefferson said of West?s snub. ?Delonte has had a great year. But that?s OK. We?re both shooting for the big game in a couple of years.? West, shrugging the whole affair off as ?not that serious,? preferred Jefferson?s line of thinking. It?s an accomplishment I would like to have, but I have a lot of years to prepare for the real game,? he said. ?The people who make those decisions are good at what they do.? The league?s assistant coaches voted for both rosters, though unfortunately for West and the large staff (five) that sits on the Celtics bench, there was only one vote allowed per team. West couldn?t resist joking about the Ford selection, though, when he said, with a smile, ?I guess it was a redshirt year. But he did come back from a tough injury." Green in Green Though his stay with the parent club will probably be short, Gerald Green is expected to join the Celtics for their two-game trip through Florida this weekend. The rookie, who could join the team as soon tomorrow night against the Clippers, averaged 12.3 points and 4.9 rebounds for Fayetteville (N.C.) of the NBDL, highlighted by a 21-point performance last week against Roanoke. Green, who was activated for one game this season during the Celtics? visit to his hometown of Houston, will suit up, considering the Celtics have only 11 active players, one shy of the 12-player maximum. ?This is a chance to check up on him, and see how he?s going,? said Danny Ainge. Green will probably rejoin his D-League team, necessitating the signing of a free agent. Davis pays up The good news is that Ricky Davis, despite his trade to Minnesota, agreed to continue paying for the 15 members of his green-painted fan club ? The Buckets Brigade ? to attend Celtics games for the rest of the season. That way, now that the club has adopted Kendrick Perkins as its new hero, the Celtics center won?t have to open his own wallet, at least not this season. Perkins also learned a lesson as a result of the honor. As much as this group may love his game, he also showed up at a very important time. ?I was with Ricky when he picked them,? he said. . . . The WNBA held a press conference before the game announcing the 2006 draft will be April 5 in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The event is being held in conjunction with the NCAA Women?s Final Four at the TD Banknorth Garden April 2 and 4.</div> http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/vi...&format=&page=2
