This wasn't a trash day
Foes throw out nothing but praise
WALTHAM - Check back after some hard-fought games, but for now the Celtics and Cavaliers are making nice with each other. The teams are trading compliments, not putdowns, as they prepare for tonight's series opener at TD Banknorth Garden.
Cleveland coach Mike Brown said in a phone interview that the Celtics are "a special team."
"Boston is a terrific basketball team," Brown said. "We are going to have our hands full. They are special on both sides of the floor. What makes them special is how they defend.
"As a team defensively they are excellent. [Then] you have the luxury of three 20-plus scorers, and there are some really nice pieces around it. When you have that, you're going to be a dangerous team to beat."
Celtics coach Doc Rivers had similar praise for the Cavaliers. He called LeBron James the Shaquille O'Neal of shooting guards and said the players around James don't get enough credit.
Rivers was also happy to point out that Cleveland is the reigning Eastern Conference champion, even without several key players who helped upset Detroit last year to advance to the NBA Finals.
"They were the better team. On paper, everyone thought Detroit was the best team, but Cleveland won. And you can't take that from them," said Rivers.
"We don't take that lightly. They've been there, and so that's going to be tough to beat. They know what they've gone through. Even though there's different guys, the main guy's there. And that's going to be tough to beat, and we know that going in."
Health club
Paul Pierce suffered a lower back sprain and right hip sprain during the series against Atlanta. But Pierce said he feels fine despite having just one day off between series. "The back is doing a lot better," Pierce said. "The hip is a little sore from Game 6 in Atlanta. I don't think it will have an effect on me." Rajon Rondo said he's OK after hitting the floor hard when flagrantly fouled by Hawks forward Marvin Williams Sunday. Williams received an automatic ejection for his Flagrant 2 foul. "I hurt a little bit, but I'm fine," said Rondo, who participated in practice yesterday and didn't need medical treatment.Behind the numbers
While James has already posted four 30-point games during the playoffs, the Celtics are still waiting for Pierce, their leading scorer, to drop 30 on an opponent. Pierce averaged 18 points per game against Atlanta, 1.6 below his regular-season average. The most points he's scored this postseason is 22, in Games 5 and 7 against the Hawks. "Paul's a great scorer as well, and they're going to send help, just like we're going to send help," said Rivers. "What Paul has done very well, I think, is involve his teammates, and what LeBron has done well is involve his teammates. Sometimes, I think we get caught up in the numbers in scoring, and we don't look at what the guys did to cause points. If Paul scores 14 points, but causes another 30 from him getting double-teamed, we're fine with that. We'll take that."Rotator buff
Rivers said he might expand his playoff rotation for the Cleveland series. The prime candidates to play more would be guard Tony Allen and forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis. "Tony Allen has not played, but he's a guy that if someone is going to play, he could be a guy added into this series because of LeBron," said Rivers. "Honestly, Baby could be added to this series too because for whatever reason he's done a good job on [Zydrunas] Ilgauskas. I wouldn't be shocked to see either one of those guys."Opening the ex files
There is little love lost between Kevin Garnett and former teammate Wally Szczerbiak, who plays for the Cavaliers. The two played together in Minnesota for 6 1/2 seasons, before the Timberwolves traded Szczerbiak to the Celtics in 2006. Garnett was asked if Cleveland was an ideal situation for his former teammate. He paused for more than 10 seconds before answering. "Sure," said Garnett. "It's the first I've ever heard a question about Wally and his situation. He's got a guy who is dominant on the ball and he can play second-tier. I guess, yeah, sure. I don't really know how to answer that." . . . Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck was at practice . . . Brown said he looked forward to using Sasha Pavlovic, who made his 2008 playoff debut Friday after missing the Cavaliers' first five games with an injured left ankle. Brown hopes to have the 6-foot-7-inch swingman available tonight to help guard Ray Allen. "Sasha is long and he is athletic and to have him available is big," Brown said. "We just have to make sure that we can find minutes for him. If we don't, he just has to be ready to play. He was our starting 2-guard last year and he gave us some productive minutes in the playoffs last year, so it's good to have him back."A big help
No one welcomed the blockbuster trade that brought Joe Smith and Ben Wallace to Cleveland's frontcourt more than the 7-3 Ilgauskas, who will be looking for Wallace to help guard Garnett. "Obviously, we got Ben, so we don't have to double-team as much," Ilgauskas said. "Garnett is a tough cover, but it would help if we didn't have to double-team him as much, because he's such a good passer. The first game we played them this year, we tried to double-team him right away and he had like six assists against us in the first quarter." . . . The Cavaliers practiced in Cleveland yesterday before boarding a flight that landed in Boston last night . . .Michael Vega of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
