O'Brien has high hopes for Davis

Davis finished with 10 points in 22 minutes in the Celtics' 87-84 win over the Sixers. But coach Jim O'Brien sounds like he has offensive goals for the newcomer that are even loftier than the guard's vertical leap.

"He's a very good offensive player," said O'Brien. "I expect that he's going to have many nights where he's going to be the high scorer for our team. It's tough to get acclimated. He's not in any flow right now, nor should he be. He's just not comfortable right now. When he becomes comfortable, and I want that to be fairly quickly, then I think we'll be a difficult team to guard when we bring him off the bench. But right now, he's thinking too much instead of just using his instincts."

Iverson out

Undoubtedly, many in the sellout crowd came to see Allen Iverson. But if they wanted to watch him, they needed a ticket to the Sixers' training room back in Philadelphia, because that's where he remained, working with assistant trainer John Tooher on rehabbing a right knee contusion. "We'll have to evaluate him [today] and see how he feels," said Sixers coach Randy Ayers, who admitted Iverson was questionable for the start of the team's trip West that begins Dec. 28 in Phoenix.

Help on way

Members of Marcus Banks's immediate family will be relocating from Las Vegas to Boston sometime this January to support the rookie point guard. The family figured Banks could use some more stability and familiar faces in the Boston area.

"You have to be around family for that foundation, that stability," said Banks's father, Arthur, who attended the game last night with family members. "Just being around family makes better people and makes you a better person. I think Boston is in for a big treat. I know it. All they've got to do is play him. He's a rookie and he's waiting his turn, like everybody else.

"He's going to be great for Boston."

Shrinking minutes

Although Vin Baker ranks second among league leaders in field goal percentage (52.4 percent), the starting power forward has been seeing fewer minutes of late. Part of the reason has been O'Brien using a smaller lineup. But also the coach would like a better defensive effort from Baker.

"I think he needs to be a little bit more concentrated at the defensive end," said O'Brien. "Mark [Blount] and Vin have a big responsibility starting at the center and the power forward spot for us and they really have to be anchors to our defense."

O'Brien saw the improvement he wanted in Baker last night, playing the power forward 34 minutes. Baker finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks.