Injury Updates: Good News on KG, Perk, and Delonte
Posted by Brian Robb on Jan 8, 2011
In the midst of the C’s runaway win last night in Toronto, there was plenty of more positive news coming out of the C’s locker room regarding the team regaining bodies over the next few weeks. Let’s start from the top with KG, with some help from our friend over at CelticsBlog, Jimmy Toscano:
KG is on schedule to return next week, his original target date and could be in uniform as early as Monday night against Houston:
“He’s shooting and doing everything,” Doc Rivers told reporters. “I think he’ll be back early next week. I think he’ll be back by Monday or Wednesday.”
A quick caveat on this, though the C’s have been as a straightforward as possible on the injury situation this time around with KG, returning him ahead of schedule may not be in the team’s best interest. Why take any chances, especially with the team back firing on all cylinders and a soft home schedule waiting next week (Houston, Sacramento, Charlotte). My bias opinion has him getting in uniform next Friday night against Charlotte to help shake off the rust before Orlando visits town a week from Monday.
The C’s front line could receive another major boost in their corps with Kendrick Perkins who spoke at length to reporters before the game
The veteran big man is targeting a return to full practice (if the C’s ever have one) next week and a potential to return to game action before the end of January. And unlike Delonte’s wishful thinking about a return at the end of July, this is one that actually looks like it will happen. Here’s more from Toscano
Rivers said that trainer Ed Lacerte will make the final call on when and what Perkins can do on the court.
“Whether that will be a full practice or allow him to do some contact,” Rivers said. “I wouldn’t be surprised, I mean he’s going full boar in the three-on-three workout so I don’t know why he probably couldn’t do full but I just don’t know yet.”
And here’s Perk on getting over the mental parts of the injury:
“All of it’s mental,” Perkins said. “I think obviously it may take a few days for me to get my rhythm back but I think all of it is mental. I believe how much work you put in is what you get out of it. So I try to go hard every day and try to basically bust my butt every day because I just feel like hard work pays off.”
That work ethic is serving both sides here. With Perk in a contract year, it’s in his best interest to get back out there as soon as he is able to show the C’s (and other teams) he is returning to form. For the C’s having him shake off some rust from the injury so early in the year, gives him a better chance to be a reliable contributor when the games count the most in April, May and hopefully June.
Finally with Delonte West, the expectation is for him to be back by the All-Star break as I’ve been preaching for weeks. Still it didn’t stop D West from giving everyone an entertaining sound bite in the locker room:
“It’s a slow process, but a fah-sho process.”
Get well soon Delonte.
One more quick sidebar on last night’s game where, Jermaine O’Neal (shocker!) left the game at halftime with a sore knee. Given the game was in hand at that point and the team had a game tonight in Chicago, it was an easy move for Doc to make, but that didn’t stop him from taking a potential subtle playful jab at his free agent center in the postgame. (Via Chris Forsberg at ESPNBoston)
“His knee was sore, so I knew in the second half I wasn’t going to go with him,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “And we had a lead, so we just looked at it and, if we could get him through this game and maybe play him tomorrow, it would be great.”
O’Neal’s status for Saturday’s game in Chicago is uncertain. He sat out the second half of a loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 8, then missed the next 19 games as he rehabbed a surgically repaired knee that’s hindered him in the latter stages of his career.
“[The knee] was a little sore before the game, but at halftime he came to me and said, ‘Man, my knee’s sore,’” said Rivers. “I think his knee’s sore for the rest of his life. But there’s going to be different degrees of pain.”
We’ll keep you posted on J.O.’s status for tonight and have a full preview of the team’s showdown with Chicago later today. For now, enjoy the prospect of this team returning to near full strength soon.
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