Durant carrying heavy load
He takes tough season in stride
Kevin Durant is the youngest player in the NBA. He will turn 20 Sept. 29. The exciting Sonic pretty much has Rookie of the Year honors wrapped up, but he admitted last night it hasn't been easy being on a team that loses three of every four games.
"It's still tough, every time you lose," he said before the Celtics' 111-82 victory over the Sonics, Seattle's 49th loss in 65 games. "But I think it would be harder to deal with if we weren't getting better as a team."
Durant had a team-high 16 points in 33 minutes in his first game in Boston. It was the 34th time he has led the team in scoring this season.
Durant's coach, the estimable P.J. Carlesimo, said his prize rook is being asked to do things few rookies have to, namely, carry a team, be the face of a franchise, learn the NBA game at 19, all the while having a possible relocation issue hanging over his head.
Oh, and did we mention that he has had 18 teammates this season?
"It's hard for people to understand how difficult his rookie season has been, in terms of what he sees every night," Carlesimo said. "We've put him in a situation not many rookies have ever been in. Maybe LeBron [ James] a few years back. But not too many. But when you see him night in and night out, you can appreciate what he does on a daily basis."
Durant leads the Sonics in scoring and minutes. He's doing it possibly in his first and only season in Seattle, as Sonics ownership will ask the NBA next month to approve a petition to move the team to Oklahoma City. The city is fighting the move in court and, since there are two years left on the team's lease at Key Arena, it's not inconceivable the Sonics could stay where they are for another year or two.
"I love Seattle. It's a great city," Durant said. "But there's not a great deal I can do about [the possible move]. You can't pick where you go in the draft and you can't pick where you're going to play as a team.
"But wherever we do end up, we're still the same team."
Carlesimo said he didn't think the possible relocation has had any effect on his players.
"We all wonder where we're going to be, but it's not something we have any control over," he said. "I haven't seen the players bring any of it to practice or to games."
Pollard has surgery
Scot Pollard underwent successful surgery Tuesday night to repair a torn tendon in his left ankle. The operation was performed in Indianapolis by a surgeon Pollard had become familiar with during his time with the Pacers. Pollard revealed more than a week ago that he had decided to have the operation, effectively ending his season. "He hurt the ankle early, coming in to play with the rest of the players, and he didn't have to do that," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "But he did. I think the coaches and his teammates understand what he tried to do for this team." . . . In a 10-question interview in Time magazine, NBA commissioner David Stern said he hopes to raise the minimum age to 20 when the current collective bargaining agreement expires in 2011. The NBA said Stern wanted the age limit raised to 20 during the last round of CBA negotiations, but agreed to 19. Stern did not say if raising the age limit would also mean a draftee would have to be two years out of high school . . . Seattle was without Nick Collison (right hip, right elbow, lower back). No one noticed outside the immediate Collison family . . . When he came out of the game in the first quarter, the Celtics gave a shout-out to Kevin Garnett, who scored his 20,000th career point last Saturday in Memphis. A standing ovation ensued. Sam Cassell also got a standing ovation when he made his Garden debut as a Celtic with 6:45 left in the first half . . . Eddie House had his "A" game, scoring 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting while adding 5 assists and 4 rebounds in 17 minutes . . . Ray Allen and Mike Wilks, teammates last year, had a chat at halfcourt after the game. Wilks has only been back with Seattle since Feb. 29 and is on his second 10-day contract, which expires March 21 . . . What can be done in the last 20 games, with the playoffs already in the bag and the likely No. 1 seed secured? Well, there is the matter of getting the two newest Celtics - Cassell and P.J. Brown - integrated into the mix. "Actually, that's important," Rivers said at yesterday's shootaround. "How quickly can we do it? We'll see." Rivers had some fun with Cassell, whose Celtics debut Monday featured four fouls in 5 minutes 24 seconds. "Sam's a hack," Rivers said. "I think maybe he thought because he was in a different conference that he could foul more and he wouldn't get called for it."Peter May can be reached at pmay@globe.com. 