Celtics tried out new lesson plan

WALTHAM -- Paul Pierce ventured to a local movie theater earlier this week for a showing of "I Think I Love My Wife" when an excited ticket-taker greeted him with: "How are you doing? I hope you guys lose." Clearly, the ticket-taker was a Celtics fan, hoping more losses will translate into better draft lottery position. Pierce did not know how he should respond to such a greeting and tried to laugh it off.

On the court and off, the Celtics can't escape speculation about whether they are throwing games or whether they should be. Unable to escape talk of Greg Oden and Kevin Durant and ping-pong balls, Doc Rivers followed a 92-84 loss to the Bobcats Wednesday night with a disclaimer.

"I was not tanking the game," said Rivers. "I was not throwing the game or anything like that because I heard all those questions [before]. Honestly, I got to the point early in the fourth quarter when I turned to my coaches and said, 'We're going to win or lose with this group [of bench players].' "

As a result, Pierce remained on the bench for the entire fourth quarter, even though trainer Ed Lacerte cleared the captain to play shortly after he suffered cuts inside his mouth and a bruise under his right eye with 4 minutes 2 seconds left in the third quarter.

A seat on the sideline allowed Pierce to watch Boston bench players Sebastian Telfair, Allan Ray, Gerald Green, Rajon Rondo, Ryan Gomes, and Leon Powe squander an 18-point lead. Pierce said he agreed with Rivers using the fourth quarter as an opportunity to teach the reserves a lesson about what it takes to win.

"These are the guys who want the playing time," said Pierce, who did not speak to the media after the game. "These are the guys you're looking at to see who will step up for next year. They see what they've got to do to make sure they keep the lead and get us the win.

"Young players, they see a big lead and they tend to get a little more relaxed."

Pierce and Rivers hope the reserves take something away from their embarrassing finish against the Bobcats. Pierce is thinking about next year, not next week.

"You don't want to have a lead and lose," said Pierce. "You want to go out there and do something about it, but we're building on stuff for next year."

When asked if it was the right time for a lesson, Pierce said, "I know if it was in the middle of a playoff race, it probably wouldn't have gone down like that. Being that we won't make the playoffs, being that we're building something for next year, I think so."

Rivers had one regret about the strategy, wishing he had not reinserted starters Al Jefferson or Delonte West midway through the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, NBA spokesman Mark Broussard said the league would not take any disciplinary action against Rivers for his comments.

Said Rivers: "I don't know if in one day a message gets through, but I think the message was a good message for them, as tough as it was for me to send it that way. It was a very good thing to do, having thought about it more now . . . The biggest thing I asked [during practice yesterday] was, 'During the whole stretch, who took charge of that [reserve] group? Who was the leader?' No one answered. I asked again and no one answered. That was a great lesson, the point being there didn't have to be a leader on the floor, but someone has to take charge of that group when they're on the floor."

But waiting for the future can take a toll, especially on a player like Pierce and a coach like Rivers.

When asked if he was worried about Pierce or Rivers, Danny Ainge said, "I'm not worried right now. I think they're doing fine. It's been a long, difficult season for both Paul and Doc, but it has not affected their relationship."

It will be interesting to see how the players' and coaches' relationships hold up as the season comes to a disappointing conclusion and the pressure, expectations, and anticipation build for next year. At the very least, Rivers hopes he has heard the last of bench players complaining about lack of playing time, though the odds of that happening are not nearly as good as the Celtics getting the No. 1 or No. 2 pick.

Shira Springer can be reached at springer@globe.com.