Welsch's time has finally come

"I think he's one hell of a basketball player," Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said after his team's 126-112 victory last night, its third straight. O'Brien said he knew next-to-nothing about Welsch when the Walker deal went down, other than the fact that basketball chief Danny Ainge fought to have the Czech included in the deal.

Nearly two months later, Welsch is a mainstay. To put things in perspective, Welsch was a DNP on 45 occasions last season. He played only 234 minutes and scored 61 points. He already has lapped those figures (418 minutes, 120 points) at the quarter pole of the 2003-04 season. He has done so by making a convincing case to be seen as one of the team's best, two-way players.

"I really thought he made terrific decisions and he could shoot the basketball," said O'Brien. "And [assistant coach] Dick Harter said to me, `You know what? This kid can play defense.' That's all I needed to hear. It became apparent that at some point in time, we were going to have to give him the time he deserved."

That the time has come so quickly is a surprise to Welsch, who has moved ahead of Kedrick Brown and Jumaine Jones on the wingman rotation and ahead of Marcus Banks at the point position. The ankle sprain is not believed to be serious.

"After the trade, I didn't have much expectations," Welsch said. "I was coming to a new team a week before the regular season started. Most of the pieces and positions and roles were determined. I didn't have any expectations, but things turned out like this and I'm happy for it."

Asked if he thought that he fit in, Welsch smiled and said, "I think I do."

Pain, no gain

LaFrentz, meanwhile, played even though, as O'Brien noted, "he's in a lot of pain." The coach said Tuesday that LaFrentz is going to eventually need surgery for his sore right knee and Ainge has said that shutting down the 6-foot-11-inch LaFrentz for the season is one option. LaFrentz is getting predictably tired talking about his knee, which has been bothering him for weeks. "It is what it is," he said last night, before playing only 9 minutes. "We'll see what we can do." Asked if there was a point where it might not be worth going out there, he said, "It's not about being worth it. It's always worth it. It's about being able. I really don't know. I think we're in the process of figuring things out to see what path we're going to take. At this point, we're looking at every avenue and trying to find something that works and takes care of the situation." . . . Vin Baker returned after being ill with the flu for almost a week. He had 8 points in 22 minutes. "He looked a little slow, and a little winded, which he should be," O'Brien said. "I didn't expect him to be himself and I appreciate him giving his all." Sonics coach Nate McMillan said he didn't regret not being able to straighten out Baker when the two were in Seattle. "I did what I thought I could," McMillan said. "You can't reach everyone." . . . Seattle set a franchise record with an astounding 41 3-point attempts, connecting on 17. Twelve of the treys came in the fourth quarter, when the Sonics scored 44 points . . . The Sonics have lost four straight and fell below .500 (9-10).