Practice turned into a health watch

But when it came time to practice, the three would-be Celtics were still in limbo because the Cavaliers' new acquisitions had not passed their physicals. And no deal is complete until all the physicals are completed.

So what was left of the Celtics watched some video and got some treatment. Perhaps by this morning's shootaround, the team will get the word from Ohio that Eric Williams, Tony Battie, and Kedrick Brown passed their tests. Once that comes, the new players will get the full immersion treatment.

Pierce still hobbled

Paul Pierce left practice wearing a splint and a large ace bandage around his left calf and foot. He said the calf, injured last Saturday in Cleveland, is still sore. "I rested it today and I'll rest it tomorrow," he said. And, with Antoine Walker and the Mavericks on tap, do you think there's any chance Pierce will miss this one? "I can't miss this game," Pierce said. "It's going to be a lot of fun. I know he [Walker] is going to be pumped up to play. I'm going to have a chance to guard him. I know his strengths and weaknesses. I don't want him to go out there and start wiggling." . . . Injured Mavericks forward Michael Finley (sprained right toe) and center Shawn Bradley (back spasms) will miss tonight's game against the Celtics . . . O'Brien on the booing that Danny Ainge received at Monday night's ceremony for Cedric Maxwell: "I think it's absolutely wrong," he said. The coach then told a story of his first year in New York with Rick Pitino and how the Knicks were booed at halftime of an exhibition game against the Celtics. He said Pitino told them to go hard in the second half and the fans would respond. The Knicks did. And the fans did. And the moral of the story? "If you ever overreact to fans, there's something wrong with you." . . . Worth Noting Again Dept: O'Brien will be looking for his first win over any of the three Texas teams, home or away.