Communicating the problem

Raef LaFrentz met with coach Doc Rivers yesterday following comments the veteran big man made after recording 20 points and eight rebounds off the bench Tuesday night in Toronto. In uncharacteristically pointed remarks, LaFrentz sounded frustrated with the Boston coaching staff constantly asking him to adjust his game. As he prepared to come off the bench for the second straight game last night against the Wizards at TD Banknorth Garden, LaFrentz did not expand upon his earlier comments, though he acknowledged being upset at the time.

Wishing to move on with the remainder of the season, LaFrentz -- not wanting any more attention -- kept his comments short and uncontroversial last night, saying he was ''sure it will all take care of itself." Rivers and executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge also wanted to put the situation in the past.

''I was disappointed in the comments, especially just the communication part of it," said Rivers. ''One thing we do [here is] communicate. He's frustrated, obviously, with not starting anymore. That's fine by me. If the way he's going to show it is by scoring 20 points and getting eight rebounds, I think it's terrific."

When asked about LaFrentz noting that he constantly needed to adapt to changing circumstances with the Celtics, Rivers added: ''I disagree with that. Wally [Szczerbiak] and Paul [Pierce] are the two guys who have clearly defined that they are starters. No one else has. Everyone else has to earn it and that can change and your roles are going to change on this team. We're not that good where we have a starting five like the Detroit Pistons that will be the starting five forever. ''We're just not at that level. When we get to that level, then I think everyone will be happy.

''Chuck Daly used to laugh about it all the time and say, 'The five who start are your best friends. The seven who don't are your enemies.' It's not on that level, obviously, but I think Raef is frustrated with not starting. That's fine by me, but that won't change."

But LaFrentz, who recorded 2 points (1 for 8, 0 for 4) and 6 rebounds in 26 minutes last night as Boston lost to Washington, 108-91, did not necessarily take issue with returning to the bench as much as season-long inconsistency and uncertainty surrounding his role. Ainge believes better communication is the key.

''I'll let Doc and Raef work out there own communication issues," said Ainge, who was scouting at the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational Tournament. ''I know Doc's door is always wide open. Some players think it's the coach's 100 percent responsibility, but it's the player's responsibility to communicate as well. I've seen Doc call players into his office regularly . . . [I was surprised with the comments] because I think Doc's been good to Raef . . . I don't want to blow this all out of proportion. Players get frustrated. We all get frustrated. I would hope players are frustrated. I don't have any problem with them being frustrated. I have a problem with them dealing with their frustrations through the media . . . It's one thing to vent frustration as a last resort, not as a first resort."

But despite LaFrentz publicly venting his frustration Tuesday night, Rivers said there were no parallels to the Mark Blount situation. Earlier this season, Blount publicly requested more touches. Rivers benched Blount for focusing more on his offense and failing to stay aggressive on the glass. Then, Ainge traded Blount to Minnesota.

''Raef has been a pretty loyal guy to me, a pretty loyal guy to the team," said Rivers. ''He's done mostly good things. Honestly, if he could turn all that around that was in [the papers yesterday], he probably would. But sometimes you are emotional. Raef is not a bad guy. He's not a bad teammate, so I can deal with that."

For his part, Ainge sees LaFrentz as a part of the Celtics' future. In fact, during a conversation about a month ago, Ainge listed LaFrentz as part of the Boston core along with Pierce, Szczerbiak, Delonte West, Kendrick Perkins, and Al Jefferson.

''Raef is the kind of player we need," said Ainge. ''We need somebody who can step out and make shots. We need somebody who can cut to the basket. We need somebody who can rebound, block shots. We need Raef to be good. These are learning opportunities for everyone to learn how to handle these situations better."

Perhaps, to that end, the Celtics took the unusual step of calling a team meeting before pregame warmups. Per league rules, locker rooms open to the media 90 minutes before tipoff. But last night Boston held a pregame gathering that kept the doors closed a good 15 minutes longer than usual.

Celtics' scheduling -- they played their second of back-to-back games against the Wizards last night and the contest started a half-hour earlier than they customarily do at the Garden -- caused the unexpected delay.

But Rivers may have needed some extra time to make sure the lines of communication were sufficiently open for the remainder of the season.