Knee surgery KOs LaFrentz

Raef LaFrentz stayed home last night as his Celtics teammates headed for the airport and a flight to Cleveland for tonight's game against the Cavaliers. On Monday, LaFrentz is scheduled for season-ending surgery to correct the ongoing, relentless, and extremely painful tendinitis that has bothered him all season.

"It's hard to miss this much time with an injury," said LaFrentz, whose first Celtics season will consist of 17 games, the finale being last night's 18-minute, 9-point submission in Boston's 114-111 victory over Toronto. "I feel like I've been playing at half-speed out there in games and not getting a lot done in practice. I've done everything the staff has suggested, but it just hasn't gotten any better. I just feel now is the time."

LaFrentz said he knew he would have the surgery when he went out and played last night. "I had a good idea it was going to be Monday," he said. Basketball boss Danny Ainge termed the upcoming procedure "minor surgery" and said it was necessary to protect LaFrentz's long-term health and value to the franchise.

"I played with Larry [Bird] and Kevin [McHale] and others who fought through injuries and I think it shortened their careers," Ainge said. "And I also think it took away a lot of their spirit, because it's no fun to go through five hours a day of rehab."

LaFrentz is not concerned about the operation.

"I'm not worried about the surgery," he said. "But it's a long rehab because of where it is. I know what knee pain is. I've gone through a torn ACL and I've played with tendinitis in both knees. But this just didn't go away and it's time to get it under control."

Asked if he could pinpoint a time when the knee just got worse, LaFrentz said, "I don't know. It's something that's been there and it's been particularly bad the last couple months, to the point where I could go hard for only 15 minutes and not at all in practice. I'm just not doing it out there. I still feel I can do positive things, but that's not my game out there."

Ainge said, "He's in an awful lot of pain. We've been deliberating what to do and we think this is the best way to go." Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said earlier in the week that while surgery was inevitable, he hoped to have LaFrentz available for 15 minutes a game because it might translate into four or five more wins. Ainge, sensitive to that, still decided to shut the big man down.

LaFrentz was the key piece in the Oct. 20 deal with Dallas that sent Antoine Walker to the Mavericks. LaFrentz missed 13 games last season with an ankle injury and Ainge has said the Celtics knew about the tendinitis when the deal was made. But as the situation deteriorated, and rest and medication proved ineffective, the team and the player opted for the last resort.

LaFrentz, who earlier missed six games with the same problem, finished with an average of 7.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in only 19.3 minutes a game.