Garnett says he was OK - but team wasn't

By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff  |  January 7, 2009

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kevin Garnett would not acknowledge being slowed by a calf injury he sustained in a 100-88 loss to New York Sunday.

"I played," Garnett said when asked about the injury after the Celtics' 114-106 overtime loss to the Bobcats last night.

The Celtics slumped to their fifth loss in seven games.

"To be honest with you, I think teams are playing a lot better," Garnett said. "We did a great job in the past of cutting runs and making a run of our own, and we have to get back to doing a good job of that. Defensively, we've got to be a lot more sound.

"Fundamentally, I think, we're a hard team to beat when the ball is moving, we have a rhythm, the ball is moving from strong side to weak side.

"We'll get better. We're a team with confidence, a team with character, and we're just getting everyone's best shot right now."

Coach Doc Rivers said Garnett "looked OK. He was aggressive down the stretch. We just need to see that all game. Those two post moves down the stretch, that's how we have to get that, all game. He made a concerted effort to score in the paint."

Most of the Celtics pointed to defensive difficulties in this game.

"Turnovers and missed assignments," captain Paul Pierce said. "The way we play defense, if one person messes up, the whole thing goes."

Said Rivers, "[The Bobcats] played so hard, they scrambled for shots. We told our team before the season it'll be 82 Game 7's - every time we play, it's a Game 7 for the other team. On the nights we're not great mentally, we're going to have to get lucky or play way over our heads to win."

Asked about the Bobcats' two-point-guard setup of D.J. Augustin and Raymond Felton, Rivers said, "They're 'small' most of the game. That didn't make a difference to us. It's nothing we're panicked about.

"But your goal is to get home court. And now you're looking at other teams, you don't want that, you want to do it yourself.

"These are dog days - the toughest stretch is between Christmas and the All-Star break - but I told our guys that before the game. But for us, it can't be, because we're playing for home court every night we play."

Rajon Rondo recovered from a difficult game against the Knicks to score 16 points, but had nine turnovers. "I think he gets frustrated at times because he feels the weight - teams are trying to take advantage of what he can't do and he feels it hurts the team, and that's what affects him," Rivers said before the game. "And I tell him, 'That can't affect you, just keep playing your game, keep playing with speed and making them pay.' " . . . Tony Allen (right ankle) missed the game and is questionable for tonight's contest against Houston at TD Banknorth Garden. Allen was injured in New York Sunday. "I reinjured it driving into the middle when I got called for traveling," Allen said. "I tweaked it and I should have left the game, but I tried to play on it." Allen missed two games last month with a similar injury, but this could be more serious. "Probably the next two games, or even longer," Rivers said.

Before the game, Charlotte coach Larry Brown illustrated how the logistics of professional basketball have changed, noting his team in the ABA played four times in four days. When the Oakland Oaks franchise moved to Washington, D.C., during the season, the team kept its court in San Jose and often played back-to-back "home" dates in Washington and San Jose. "I remember Boston, being on a plane with them," Brown said of a trip early in his coaching career. "And the players went first-class, so I went to the back of the plane. And Mr. [Red ] Auerbach grabbed me and said, 'Don't you dare sit in back.' He grabbed one of their guys and put him in the back and said, 'You're sitting here with me.' "

The Charlotte coaching staff listed brief reminders for players on a grease board before the game. For Garnett, the advice was brief - "Don't get punked," referring to Garnett's ability to psych out opponents . . . Former Providence star Austin Croshere was waived by Milwaukee, but is a long shot to end up with the Celtics, who are 29th on the list of teams eligible to claim him.

Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at fdellapa@globe.com