Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff
Boston Celtics rookie forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis gets his first NBA start tonight as the Celtics will be without center Kendrick Perkins (toe injury) and Scot Pollard (back).
Celtics head coach Doc Rivers announced in his pre-game meeting with the press that Davis will be in the starting lineup.
Pollard, who was in the locker room prior to the game, said he tweaked his back getting out of his car. He also said that he tried bending over to put on socks and was unable to do that either.
“It’s felt better,” he said in replying to questions about how his back was feeling.
Pollard has had previous back issues. When he played for Sacramento he had a stress fracture, but he says he hadn’t had problems with his back in the last two years.
Rivers joked that Pollard “woke up old.” The injury coupled with the Perkins injury, caused by a bed fell on his foot, paved the way for Davis’ start.
One for slick Ricky
Sacramento Kings head coach Reggie Theus credited Rick Pitino for helping him get to a head coaching post in the NBA. Theus was an assistant on Pitino’s staff at Louisville for two seasons before taking the head coaching job at New Mexico State University.
Theus said that being a former NBA player actually may have worked against him as he attempted to get into the coaching at the college level. The perception, according to Theus, was that former players wanted to jump into head coaching spots without doing the so-called grunt work.
Dana’s back
The Celtics announced today that former Celtics Dana Barros has been named the team’s new Director of Player Development. Barros played in Boston from 1995-2000 and averaged 10.1 points per game, while shooting 40.7 percent from behind the three-point line. He also rejoined the Celtics for the remainder of the 2003-04 season.
Michael Crotty, who previously held the title of Director of Player Development, is still with the organization and will work with Barros as an assistant director.
A loss at the Garden
The Celtics released a notice that veteran scorekeeper George Yorks passed away Wednesday afternoon in Framingham at the age of 74.
Yorks was a member of the Celtics scoring crew for the past 20 seasons and was responsible for the scoreboard and started his scoring duties in the original Boston Garden. He worked his last game on Dec. 7, against the Toronto Raptors.
He is survived by his wife Miriam, who has also worked as a member of the game-night socring crew for the Celtics for the last 20 years.
And Fat Baby Davis looked great last night. Can he dunk??? As i watched the game i never saw him leave his feet. I don't know how he manages to pull down all of those boards. And KG, even when his numbers aren't that impressive he still changes a game. People were concerned about the 3 superstars getting along, i have never seen three players of that caliber share the rock like these 3 class acts we have in boston. And it's still the Truth's team. The ball is in his hands when the game's on the line. Only difference is now he might kick it out to Allen for the three.