Williams is sorely missed

The Celtics' lineup took a big hit last night with Eric Williams sidelined by the hyperextended right knee he suffered Wednesday in the season opener against Miami and reaggravated Friday night facing Memphis. He will undergo an MRI today to determine the extent of the damage to the knee, the same one that required ACL surgery during the 1997-98 season.

"Me and [trainer] Eddie [Lacerte] talked about it," said Williams. "We pretty much made a judgment because it got swollen. So, we just want to be safe, get the MRI, and see what happens."

The absence of Williams, who is considered day-to-day, had the most pronounced effect on the Celtics' defense as Boston lost to the Hornets last night at New Orleans Arena, 97-90. Celtics coach Jim O'Brien knows he cannot replace the leadership and knowledge of Williams on defense, especially when the veteran small forward is paired with Paul Pierce. Together, they represent "by far" Boston's best defensive lineup.

"I'm depending on Eric to be on the court," said O'Brien. "I like bringing him off the bench for his scoring, his tenacity. And there's nothing saying he won't start [at some point]."

Boston also had to deal with starting small forward Kedrick Brown falling into foul trouble. O'Brien was forced to move players to fill the obvious void. The maneuvering gave Jiri Welsch his first significant minutes with the Celtics. He finished with 6 points and one assist in 10 minutes.

Raef LaFrentz on his 13-point burst in the first: "That's how I play. When I get hot, I kind of score in bunches. I saw the ball well, shot the ball well, and it was a good quarter."

Healing words

The Celtics soon should have an addition to their lineup when Jumaine Jones returns from a bilateral hamstring strain that forced him to miss the exhibition season, and the regular season up to this point. He appreciates O'Brien and director of basketball operations Danny Ainge allowing him the proper time to heal. Jones believes he will be able to join his teammates at practice tomorrow.

"I've talked to Danny and the coaches and they've said it would be best for me to take the first five games off and really try to better my hamstring," said Jones. "It's pretty much day-to-day and how I feel and how comfortable I am going up and down the floor. I've just taken it to be my choice in how I'm feeling. So, that makes me feel good and that they really care about how I feel about my injury, giving me the option to play."

Missing the point

The Hornets know what it's like to play without a team leader. Jamal Mashburn has not practiced or played with New Orleans since Oct. 7. He missed all eight of his team's exhibition games and the first three regular-season contests. On Friday, the franchise received word the team's leading scorer would have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee tomorrow in Miami to remove loose particles. No timetable has been set for the All-Star forward's return. "The good and the bad is that is happened early, to where we had to make our adjustments throughout the exhibition season," said Hornets coach Tim Floyd.