West trying to give it a shot

WALTHAM -- The ball bounced into Delonte West's clutches, and he immediately looked to pass it, like a conscientious point guard.

Doc Rivers's whistle indicated West's folly.

He's supposed to be a shooting guard without a conscience.

"I want him to put the ball up more," the Celtics coach said after yesterday's practice. "Hell, I wanted him to put the ball up more last year."

West's lapse was forgivable. His instincts are a little rusty.

"I think we've hurt him -- well, not hurt him -- but we've had him playing the point the last two years," said Rivers.

So now the third-year veteran is learning his natural position all over again. His brain is still trying to get the message to his hands.

"I've been accepting [the switch] slowly," said West. "I've got to continue working hard to earn my keep. [The feel] is coming back a little more slowly. But I'm going to do the job they want me to."

In West's first two NBA seasons, the job the Celtics wanted him to do was play the point, and last year he handled it capably enough to earn a slot in the starting backcourt, compiling averages of 11.8 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game.

It wasn't readily evident, but this represented a drastic departure for West. He'd been a shooting guard all his life until he started playing for money. He'd been a good enough shooting guard, in fact, to gain All-America honors at Saint Joseph's as a senior, when he scored 18.9 points a game and helped spark the Hawks to a 30-2 record and a temporary No. 1 ranking.

Now, belatedly, comes his second shot. With the acquisition of Sebastian Telfair from Portland and the arrival of rookie Rajon Rondo from Kentucky, the point is filled.

So starting tomorrow night in the season opener against the New Orleans Hornets, West will return to his original habitat, this time as the backup to Paul Pierce.

Rivers envisions him as "a tweener, a 2-guard with the ability to put the ball on the floor."

What the coach doesn't want West doing is putting the ball on the floor more often than he's launching it at the basket. Even for someone with a shooter's inclinations, it's a gradual process to forget what he's spent two years doing.

And West's transition has been retarded in the preseason by an ailing back and a toe infection that cost him half the Celtics' eight-game exhibition schedule.

"But I'm 100 percent now," he said. "I'm ready to go."

Rivers believes West is just about ready to go to the opposite side of the court.

"I think he's getting more comfortable with the 2," said the coach. "He'll play some 1, but I think he's naturally more comfortable with the 2."

Pick a number, any number, and West seems happy with it. He doesn't believe he wasted his time at the point.

"At least I know now I'm capable of playing the 1," he said. "Now I'm working on my confidence shooting."

Nor does he consider his exit from the starting lineup a demotion.

"This way, I can show I'm more than one-dimensional," said West. "I can be used as a different weapon out on the floor."

The Celtics aren't exactly sure what's in their arsenal, but Rivers and West are effusive about the possibilities.

"I love this team," said Rivers. "I don't know how good we're going to be, I honestly don't, but they're going to give an honest effort every night."

West goes the coach one better. He has no reservations, especially as the opener approaches.

"Man, we're rolling," said West. "The chemistry the last two days has been great. Everybody knows their roles out there. We're going to play basketball this year."

As opposed to bocce?

"We're having a lot of fun out there," West said by way of explanation. "I'm having a lot of fun, too."

He just needs to remember what sort of fun he's expected to have now.

The Celtics plan to honor Red Auerbach this season by wearing black shamrocks with "Red" stenciled in green script on them on their uniforms . . . Theo Ratliff, sidelined by a herniated disk, returned to practice after a two-week absence and worked for an extra half-hour in the post with assistant coach Clifford Ray. "There's a little fatigue," said Ratliff, "but at least I'm able to move around." He'll open the season on the inactive list, as will Allan Ray and Brian Scalabrine . . . Rondo practiced after suffering a mild ankle sprain Sunday and reported no ill effects.

Bob Duffy can be reached at Duffy@globe.com