Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Sean Williams gets pregame work in for #Celtics





Mike Petraglia

8:35 PM  -  Public

BOSTON -- Sean Williams dressed up for the Celtics for the first time since being acquired last week. The big man, known for his shot-blocking ability, played at Boston College before being kicked off the team in his junior season. He was drafted by the Nets and played this year with the Mavericks. He made his Celtics debut last Friday in a 97-92 loss in Atlanta.
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Mike Petraglia

8:26 PM  -  Public

BOSTON -- Mickael Pietrus was one of five players to get the night off Tuesday as the Boston Celtics prepared to take on the Miami Heat at TD Garden. Pietrus still took the chance to warm up beforehand with Celtics assistant coach Jamie Young. Despite being in a race for the fourth and final home court spot in the upcoming Eastern Conference playoffs, the Celtics will rest five key players when they take on the Heat. Rajon Rondo (rest), Ray Allen (rest), Kevin Garnett (rest, hip flexor), Pietrus (rest) and Greg Steimsma (foot) will all be out for the Celtics, who are a game behind the Hawks for home court advantage in the East. Coach Doc Rivers said prior to the game that Steimsma is the only player that "needs" the night off due to injury. Rivers added that he expects Garnett to play in the season finale Thursday at home against the Bucks. Rivers said he preferred that Garnett play tonight and rest Thursday but Garnett told him that he needed the extra two days of rest. The Celtics will start Avery Bradley and Keyon Dooling in the backcourt, Ryan Hollins at center and Paul Pierce and Brandon Bass at forward. The game, which was spotlighted on national television on TNT, will be a chance for the reserves to get tuned up for the playoffs. The Celtics enter the game at 37-27 and champions of the Atlantic Division. With that, they are guaranteed the No. 4 seed. But the Hawks, with the No. 5 seed, actually have home court advantage with a 38-26 mark. The Celtics, who won the season series with the Hawks (2-1) need to win both and have Atlanta lose one of their final two to the Clippers or Mavericks to gain home court. Meanwhile, Miami will also be resting its core of superstars as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will all get the night off as they enter the game with a 46-18 mark and the No. 2 spot in the East already secured.