Celtics set for a homecoming

HOUSTON -- If Doc Rivers had a sentimental side, he'd have native sons Gerald Green and Kendrick Perkins introduced as starters tonight against the Rockets. That's what they do in college, which, come to think of it, is where both Green and Perkins would be playing had they not decided to skip the whole shebang for the NBA.

We know this much: Rivers will give Perkins the starting nod. The native of Beaumont has started the last five games for the Celtics, who went 3-2 over that stretch. Said executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge of Perkins's play, ''We needed a jolt of energy and he gave it to us. He has an interior presence and he's our best rebounder and shot blocker."

As for Green, the high school phenom who played at Gulf Shores Academy, he has been an inactive list regular this season. (He has dressed for one game.) But with the end of the injured list, there's nothing to stop Rivers from giving the kid a Warholian moment in his hometown. Not that Green expects any largesse.

''I'm not playing, but I'm trying to work hard every day," he said yesterday after practice at the Toyota Center. ''It's very weird. I'm used to always playing and now I'm not even suiting up. It's tough."

Asked if he had any regrets about his decision to enter the NBA -- he was an Oklahoma State recruit -- Green said, ''No regrets at all. I think I made one of the best decisions of my life."

Tickets will be an issue for both. Green was uncertain about how many he'd have to provide (''Probably a whole bunch"). Perkins figured he'd need 25. ''My first year, I wasn't even active, I was on IR, but I still had to buy 100," said Perkins. ''So 25 is not so bad."

This will be the first time that Houstonians, Beaumontians, and any other Perkins-ophiles will get to see the kid in action in green and white. As Perkins said, he was on the injured list as a rookie. Last year, he dressed for the game but did not play. (The Celtics were in their post-Antoine white-hot stretch.) This year, he knows he's going to start and that is huge.

''It feels a whole lot better to come back home and have a chance to play instead of sitting on the bench," Perkins said. ''But, in the end, it's still about playing basketball. But this time, I know I'm going to play."

Jaws are still agape from Perkins's annihilation of the Sixers last week, when he had 12 points, 19 rebounds, and 4 assists, all career highs. Since then, he has predictably come back to earth, at least statistically. In the last two games, he has 14 points and 8 rebounds.

But according to NBA.com, Perkins is fourth in the NBA in rebounds per 48 minutes (17.1). So if he can stay on the floor, he will usually find the ball. Alas, staying on the floor is easier said than done many nights; he fouled out in 15 minutes Sunday against the Knicks.

''He learned a great lesson: When you get five fouls, you don't become passive because you'll get your sixth," Rivers said. ''That's what happened. You try to be who you are as much as you can be. But the way he plays, he's going to pick them up because he's so aggressive and physical."

And no doubt he will have his hands full tonight with the imposing Yao Ming. Perkins played only 4 minutes (and had 2 rebounds and 2 fouls) when the Rockets passed through Boston last month. He's hoping to stick around a lot longer tonight in front of the home folks.

Tony Allen was not with the team at practice, although Rivers was at a loss when asked about his whereabouts. ''I'm clueless," Rivers said. ''Until you asked, I hadn't even realized he wasn't here." Allen is scheduled to be in Chicago today to enter a not guilty plea to three counts of aggravated battery stemming from an Aug. 28 fight at a Chicago restaurant that escalated into a shooting. Allen is free on $150,000 bond and has returned to practice, although he has yet to play this season because of knee surgery. He was with the team in New York and flew on to Chicago. He is expected in Houston in time for tonight's tipoff. Asked about the Allen situation, Rivers said he had resorted to reading Phil Jackson's recent book about handling distractions like this. ''I read it because he had a whole thing with Kobe," Rivers said, referring to Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case that resulted in Bryant commuting to and from Colorado on some game days. ''Obviously, this is nowhere near that. But it's just how you deal with distractions and, unfortunately, Phil kept saying 'I have no idea how to deal with this. I don't know what's going on in this kid's mind.' So, I don't know how to deal with it either." . . . Rivers said he disagreed with the NBA's fining him $10,000 for refusing to leave the court in a timely manner after getting ejected last Friday night in the loss to Chicago. ''I don't think I deserved it, I really don't," he said. ''But they make the rules and we play within those rules. But I think they should look at the big picture." Rivers added that he hoped the money went to victims of Hurricane Katrina . . . Rivers said Al Jefferson's performance Sunday (8 points, 2 rebounds in 31 minutes) was ''the single best defensive effort of his career." (He emphasized the word ''career.") ''And that allows him to stay on the floor, which is good for us because he can score." Asked what Jefferson did, Rivers said the kid was active on defense, fronted his man, got some deflections, and made three defensive reads that resulted in turnovers.