<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">When it comes to doling out holiday bonuses, the Celtics cannot give trainer Ed Lacerte enough extra pay for all the injuries and ailments he has handled this season. Add three more names to the less-than-100-percent list: Kendrick Perkins (left foot plantar fasciitis), Delonte West (sprained left big toe), and Wally Szczerbiak (strained gluteus). None of the three practiced yesterday, limiting the Celtics to four-on-four action. "We don't get but 20 good practices a season and we just blew one of them," said coach Doc Rivers. "I wasn't real happy when I found out about it. There's nothing you can do about it as a coach. "Hopefully, Perk can go [today]. Wally will go [today]. Hopefully, Delonte will go [today]. More importantly, if they can't, hopefully they can all go on Wednesday. "I don't want to go three days without having anyone practice, but if that means they get to play in the game Wednesday, we'll do that." With Perkins hurting, Rivers was asked about the possibility of playing the Charlotte Bobcats tomorrow without a legitimate center. He shook his head at the absurdity of the situation, then half-joked about going super small. "[Perkins] was complaining about [his foot] a lot during the game [in New York Saturday]," he said. "After the game, he was really complaining about it. That's something you really have to be careful with. Guys have missed months with that. And we don't want that do happen. I don't want to even think about [playing without Perkins]. That would not be good. We might start five guards, see if they would take one of their bigs off [the floor]." With Al Jefferson (appendectomy), Theo Ratliff (bulging disk), and Michael Olowokandi (small abdominal muscle tear) sidelined, Perkins has been the lone big man, a trend that will likely continue tomorrow. While Perkins said he can play through the pain, it is not that simple for Jefferson, Ratliff, or Olowokandi. "It's painful," said Perkins. "I rested it [yesterday] and got a mold to support my foot and put in my shoe. It's something like an orthotic. I play through it all the time. "It hurts most in my heel, but after I get warmed up, I just play through it, get taped up real well. But after the game, that's when it hurts a lot." Perkins has been treating the injured area with ice and electric stimulation. He also sleeps with a boot that keeps his foot flexed. He plans to practice today and play tomorrow because he doesn't want to lose the momentum and confidence he has gained by playing well in recent games. "That's just the kind of guy I am," said Perkins. "I feel like we're rolling right now, so why not just keep going?" With the team riding a three-game winning streak, Olowokandi feels less urgency to return, though he wanted to dress for Friday's game against Portland "because it just looked really bad to see our big guys going down one by one." It sounds as though he could be back sooner than later, closer to two weeks than four. Olowokandi tore his abdominal muscle when attempting to grab a rebound against Indiana last Wednesday. When he pinned the ball against the backboard, he felt something rip. "It's definitely getting a lot better a lot quicker than anticipated," said Olowokandi. "But it's hard to put a timetable on these things. I feel a lot better than I did two days ago. Jefferson was reevaluated by doctors last night and hopes to be cleared for practice today. If that is the case, he would like to play tomorrow. If he doesn't return for practice, it is uncertain when he'll play. He wants to participate in one practice before returning to game action. With the team off for the holiday Thursday, the next full practice date is Monday. But he'd like to play against the Knicks Friday night. "They kind of limited what I did [yesterday], a lot of one-on-one contact," said Jefferson, who has had difficulty putting the 10 pounds he lost back on. "I couldn't do a lot of full contact. Probably not Wednesday, but for sure Friday. I feel like if I'm healthy and I'm ready to go, I don't think anybody is going to stop me." And count West as another Celtic eager to play through the pain. He sprained his toe early in practice yesterday, and the team will keep a close eye on it. The Celtics don't want it to become something that keeps him out of the lineup for an extended period.</div> Source I think the only thing that can stop the Cs from making the playoffs this year will be injuries. I still believe they will make the playoffs, (and quote me on that) but they don't it'll be from all of injuries.
I love the team, and I love your optimism, but I think the reason they may not make the playoffs this year is because they aren't that good a team. Nevertheless, I would love to see it happen, but you're right, injuries aren't helping. Like Doc said, they only get 20 good practices a year, and now they're down to 19, and that's never good.
