After layoff, Gomes heads to the court
Ryan Gomes returned to action with more fanfare than usually greets a player coming back from injury. After all, it was Ryan Gomes bobblehead night. The first 5,000 fans received the collectible souvenir. Adding to the Gomes-themed celebration, the band from Wilby High School in Waterbury, Conn., Gomes's alma mater, performed the national anthem.
For his part, Gomes was simply happy he could compete after missing seven games with a left foot sprain. Coming off the bench, the Celtics forward finished with 4 points and three rebounds in 16 minutes of the 92-84 loss to Charlotte last night at TD Banknorth Garden. Gomes wasn't certain he would play until an MRI last week revealed nothing more than a sprain and a three-hour-plus workout Monday went well.
"Shot-wise, I got a lot of them up, but they just didn't fall," said Gomes (1 for 8). "That's going to happen, being out that long a period of time, not playing, not going up and down at a normal pace. There's a little rust. Hopefully, with one game under my belt, the next game I won't be rusty. I've been working out and my wind was fine. Foot-wise, I felt fine. I really didn't think about it or cater to it. When jumping to get a rebound, I didn't feel it at all. I tried to put it out of my mind to focus on playing."
Gomes planned to take home as many bobbleheads as possible. He handed over his car keys to Celtics staff members before the game and asked them to load up his vehicle.
"It's the question that everyone gets when you're on a team that's not going to make the playoffs," said Rivers. "But as far as I'm concerned, you play. I think everyone should play. If you're healthy, you play. I'm not a big believer [in shutting it down when the playoffs are out of reach]. I don't think Paul [ Pierce] is, either, but he's going to get asked the question a lot. So he's probably going to give you a lot of different answers.
"It's obviously tough for him, but it's tough for everyone, not just him. The point I've always made is why not ask everyone? Why not ask Gerald [Green], 'Do you want to play out the rest of the year?' I understand the question, but I just don't think anyone should sit down. The fans bought tickets before the season started expecting everyone to play, and if you're healthy, you should play."
Is Pierce healthy?
"If he's not healthy, we won't play him," said Rivers. "His [left] foot is fine [after a stress reaction]. We've got to get his elbow taken care of. It keeps flaring up."
