Doc Misses Practice, Pierce and Rondo Look Doubtful for Miami

Posted by Brian Robb on Jan 4, 2010 51750 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2010%2F01%2F04%2Fdoc-misses-practice-pierce-and-rondo-look-doubtful-for-miami%2FDoc+Misses+Practice%2C+Pierce+and+Rondo+Look+Doubtful+for+Miami+2010-01-04+20%3A13%3A12Brian+Robbhttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D5175

A few noteworthy developments coming out of the C’s practice this afternoon in Waltham. Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com and Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald gets us updated on the details.

First we have Murphy reporting on Doc and Pierce in the Herald:

Doc Rivers, tending to a personal matter, missed today’s practice, which was instead run by associate coach Tom Thibodeau. The Celtics coach is expected to be on hand for tomorrow’s practice. … In a sign of (limited) progress, the wounded Paul Pierce shot off to the side while the rest of the team started practice this afternoon.

Chris Forsberg picks things up from there, reporting via his twitter account about the rest of the practice session. Some additional items of note:

* The C’s practiced with the same first team as Saturday night’s starting lineup. (Giddens, Allen, Allen, Wallace, Perkins)

* Rondo also appeared at practice but did not participate in drills, shooting off to the side with Pierce.

* Pierce will update us on his status tomorrow

So what can we make of all of this? First, it looks likely that Pierce will not be suiting up in Miami Wednesday. Rondo  looks to be a gametime decision as well. His lack of participation in drills would make it appear that he could sit out Wednesday as well.

It also could be a case of not wanting to reaggravate his hamstring unnecessarily before game action. We will clearly know more after tomorrow’s practice but I wouldn’t fault the C’s for be extra cautious with Rondo and trying to squeak out another shorthanded win against a struggling Heat squad (losers of 3 straight).