Projo Sports Blog

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said this morning on WEEI's Dennis and Callahan show that shooting guard Ray Allen "had a hamstring problem throughout the Orlando series," and added that it might have had an impact on his performance in the series. Allen averaged 13 points per game on 34-percent shooting in the Orlando series, after averaging 23 points and 45-percent shooting in the Chicago series.

Rivers also said that center Kendrick Perkins needs surgery on his injured shoulder, and that Paul Pierce was hampered during the postseason "by some bone spurs" that may have to be removed.

Asked about Kevin Garnett's knee injury, Rivers said he did not think it was anything more than a strain, as the team has reported.

Despite the team's injury problems, Rivers said he still felt that the team should have won Game Seven against the Magic, but that it simply did not play well enough.

Looking ahead to next season, Rivers said the team needed to be improved, but he said that the problems with depth on the bench was largely due to the injuries to Garnett and Leon Powe. If those two players were healthy, Rivers said, the Celtics would have had 10 productive players to rotate.

He indicated that a priority will be to find a small forward who can back up Pierce. "We need a small forward that can defend, that can make shots and can give Paul a [break]," he said.

Click here to listen to the audio.

 Tags  Boston Celtics

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