Al Jefferson Drops Weight, Looks Impressive

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Al Jefferson has taken a cue from Paul Pierce and former teammate Ricky Davis.
He hired a personal chef, though judging from the third-year forward’s appearance, said cook must be serving up microportions that could keep only Kate Moss happy.

“They call me skinny,” Jefferson said Thursday, after stepping back on the floor for the first time since Aug. 2 ankle surgery.

He hopes, once and for all, that the process to clean debris out of his finicky right ankle will put that lingering pain behind him.

But perhaps the most impressive aspect of Jefferson’s rehabilitation is the fact that he didn’t allow the restrictions from life in an ankle boot to get in the way of his conditioning program.
“I got on the exercise bike and pedaled one-footed,” he said.

Jefferson last played in a game on March 20, at home against the Lakers, before sitting out the last 14 games of the season. After promising to outdo himself with his offseason preparations, Jefferson first returned to the Celtics’ Waltham practice facility weighing 288 pounds.

Jefferson said he now weighs 258 - his high school playing weight. Some are skeptical.

“Thirty pounds?” Danny Ainge said with a disbelieving look. “I think it’s more like 15. Thirty doesn’t sound right.”
But Jefferson shakes his head. Thirty it apparently is, with Celtics strength and conditioning coach Walter Norton confirming the number.

The slimmed area along his gut, waist and hips is accentuated by the muscle Jefferson has added to his shoulders. Big Al is now kite-shaped, a human A-frame.

“I’m not surprised, because I said what I was going to do from Day 1,” he said. “I said that this summer was going to be really big for me.”

Ankle surgery aborted a good part of that plan. Jefferson, in serious need of developing a defensive edge, hasn’t had a lot of opportunity to body up.

But when he took on rookie Leon Powe Thursday, certain qualities came right to the surface.
Powe, an outstanding post player in college, struggled against Jefferson, who blocked, altered or stripped all but one shot by the rookie.

“I felt like I could get higher - a lot quicker,” Jefferson said. “I could really tell that I was moving quicker. I felt great.

“I just refused to let the surgery set me back. Man, my body fat is 9.5 (percent), and I’ve never been that low.”
Celtics assistant coach Kevin Eastman, who rejoined the team last week after spending the last year as Nike’s director of development camps, noticed the difference in his former pupil almost immediately.

“The first thing I saw was the difference in Al,” he said. “I was in some workout situations with him while he was still in high school, and he’s so much different now.”

Down in Florida, that’s the sort of news that Celtics coach Doc Rivers was hoping to hear.

“I think it’s great,” Rivers said of Jefferson’s weight loss. “He made a great commitment to his game this summer. To go through what he went through last year, he’s probably learned a lesson about being in better shape.”</div>

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