Return helps ease the stress

WALTHAM -- Paul Pierce is back. Well, sort of. The Celtics' captain went through most of yesterday's lighter-than-normal workout, his first since a stress reaction was diagnosed in his left foot Dec. 21.

When he wasn't on the floor, he was on a stationary bicycle. He stayed around after practice to do some shooting and to remind his teammates of his status by telling the rookies to sign autographs for the crowd who had seen the open workout.

In other words, everything looked pretty normal. Pierce, like Larry Bird, is deemed to be at his best when he's chirping.

Now, for the million-dollar question: When will Pierce play again? It won't be Tuesday in Detroit. Coach Doc Rivers said Pierce won't even make the trip. It could be Wednesday against Miami. Or it could be Friday against the Nets. The latter two games are at home.

"It could be sooner than later, the next week or two," Rivers said, all the while admitting he really doesn't know. "I do know when he does, there'll be no back-to-backs and there will be an extreme minute limitation."

What is extreme? "They were talking 10 to 12, 10 to 15 minutes," Rivers said. "I was thinking, 'That ain't good.' We'll wait and see." And if it is 10-12 minutes? "I'm playing him in the fourth [quarter]," Rivers said.

All of this came as somewhat interesting news to Pierce, who simply wants to be out there, period. He has missed 22 games and the Celtics have lost 20 of them, including the last 14, a franchise record.

"I haven't played 10 to 12 minutes since I first got into basketball," Pierce said, smiling at the thought of such limited duty. "But Doc is going to treat it right. He doesn't want me to go overboard with it and I've got to respect him for that."

There's also the Great Unknown Factor. Pierce has been a pretty durable player throughout his career and this is a first for him, both in the time he has missed and the nature of the injury.

"This is a little different because of the foot issue," Rivers said. "We don't know how much he can take. He doesn't know. So even if you feel good, it's a different animal. Sometimes you've got to ease them in just to find out. This is uncharted waters with the foot. You would have to find out what he can take. It would be a shame to throw him out there for 25 minutes and find out it's too much."

Agreed Pierce, "If you come back too soon, anything can happen. If I put too much stress on it again, it could possibly break. It's a hope-all-is-well type of thing."

Pierce admitted it's going to be as much of a mental challenge for him to ease his way back.

"I think I've got to get over the mental aspect of it," he said. "The hardest part of having an injury is going out there with a mental block, wanting to push off of it, wanting to do the things you did before, when I wasn't injured. Once I get over that hurdle, get comfortable, know how far I can take it, I'll be all right."

Wally Szczerbiak was a no-show yesterday. The team said he was sick. Al Jefferson sprained his left thumb playing against Michael Olowokandi and did not return. He is listed as day to day, but appeared to be OK . . . Rivers on the winning-by-losing mantra many Celtics fans seem to have embraced: "I can understand those thoughts, but I'm still going to teach and try to work with this young group and see if we can get as many wins as we can. I don't believe in the other stuff. I think the basketball gods punish you. Teams do it and some get away with it, but I don't like it when they do." . . . The workout was one of the open sponsor's practices the team has a few times a year. This one was for Fox Sports New England. At one point, Rivers stopped the action and said, "This is what happens in the games. When the games get competitive, we lose our composure. This happens in every single game. Keep your composure! Don't foul!"

Peter May can be reached at p_may@globe.com.