No rest for weary in Game 6

CLEVELAND -- While the Hornets and Spurs will enjoy the luxury of having three days of rest and recuperation between Games 6 and 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series, which is scheduled to resume Monday in New Orleans, there's been no rest for the weary in this Eastern Conference semi between the Celtics and Cavaliers.

The Celtics, in particular, have become ironmen of sorts during the playoffs, going the marathon route in their first-round series against Atlanta. The eighth-seeded Hawks rallied from an 0-2 series deficit to force a seventh game against top-seeded Boston.

Since Game 3 of that series, the Celtics have had to play every other day, factoring in 14 travel days into their hectic playoff schedule. Tonight, the Celtics find themselves on the road here for Game 6 at Quicken Loans Arena, where they will attempt to close out the Cavaliers in six games after taking a 3-2 series lead following Wednesday night's 96-89 triumph in Boston.

"I like [playing] every other day," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said during this morning's shootaround session at Quicken Loans Arena. "I don't like to travel every other day, but I do like the every other day format for your players. It's a good rhythm for them. It doesn't affect us a whole bunch."

To their credit, the Celtics have, for the most part, remained healthy during the playoffs. But this every-other-day format could take a physical toll on the team, especially if the Celtics close out the series against the Cavs in six games and are forced to play the Detroit Pistons on one day's rest in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday afternoon at 3:30 at TD Banknorth Garden.

If the Cavaliers prevail, Game 7 would be played at the same time on Sunday at the Garden. The winner will advance to face the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals, which, in that case, would likely start on Tuesday, leaving the Celtics, again, with just a day's rest between games.

While Rivers advocated pressing onward, Kevin Garnett said he would prefer extra time off, such as the Spurs and Hornets are enjoying, between playoff games.

"Rest is always good, man," said Garnett, who, during the playoffs, has averaged 20.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 37.2 minutes, second most on the team behind Ray Allen (37.9 minutes). "Any way you can get [rest], you've got to grab it. Rest is never a bad thing in this league. It obviously gives you a chance to heal and it's always a great thing."

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Rivers said his son Jeremiah, who recently requested to transfer from Georgetown University to play basketball elsewhere, today made his third official visit. While Rivers declined to say what school he had visited, the Celts coach did offer a clue when he indicated his son was visiting "an ACC school."

Was it Boston College, perhaps? "No, but that would be nice, actually," Rivers said. "Hopefully, it'll be by next week [a decision will be made]. I told him I needed him to make it by next week, because it's starting to . . ." Wear on you? "Yes," Rivers said, "A lot."

Rivers said he was "getting calls from coaches all over," but added he didn't have time to respond.

"I don't return any of them," he said. "It's hilarious. I didn't know you got re-recruited, but you do when you do this. I'm surprised I am by it.

"It's funny how many calls and not only am I [getting them] but Danny [Ainge] and all these other guys are getting calls. `Tell him I don't want to bother him but ...' Yeah right, well then, why did you call?"

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Rivers reported today that Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, whose name has surfaced as a possible candidate for the vacancies at Phoenix and Chicago, has yet to be contacted by those organizations. "He's not been contacted by anyone yet, but I think it will happen," Rivers said. "It should." ... Garnett said he knew the woman who leapt to LeBron James's defense in Game 4 when Paul Pierce subjected threw a bear-hug on him was none other than LeBron's mother, Gloria James. "I knew who she was, but it doesn't take away the fact that I was kind of surprised [by her strong reaction to Pierce's hard foul]," Garnett said. "But, yeah, I knew who she was. We didn't want the situation to escalate. We weren't trying to hurt anyone. We just try to give no layups and play tough basketball." ... Forget Mardi Gras. P.J. Brown, a resident of Slidell, La., believes the atmosphere in his New Orleans hometown will be just as festive for Game 7 of the Hornets-Spurs series Monday night. "I think it's going to be crazy," he said. "It's going to be the first ever Game 7 in New Orleans. The crowds have been super excited and have been going bonkers throughout the whole playoffs, and this will be the first Game 7 ever, so they'll be hyped down there." Brown, who contemplated buying Hornets season tickets next year, said he was contacted by just one family member seeking Game 7 tickets. "But it hasn't been much," he said. "It's going to be exciting for the city." And what if, per chance, the Hornets and Celtics advance all the way to the NBA Finals? "I've heard about it from family members, but we'll have to wait and see," Brown said. "We've got a long way to go. We've got to take care of Cleveland first."