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With Garnett shut down, Celtics host Bobcats

Apr 1, 2009 - 3:53 AM By Mike Lipka Stats Writer

Charlotte (34-40) at Boston (56-19) 7:30 p.m. EDT

BOSTON (AP) -- With growing concerns about the health of perhaps their most important player, the Boston Celtics won't have an active Kevin Garnett for at least the rest of their homestand as they prepare for another playoff run.

The Charlotte Bobcats, meanwhile, are just hoping to be in the postseason.

Coming off a clutch victory over one of the NBA's elite, the red-hot Bobcats will look to continue their push for the Eastern Conference's eighth seed with a win over the defending league champions Wednesday night in Boston.

Garnett returned from an 11-game absence due to a knee strain on March 20, but his troubles were hardly over. The reigning NBA defensive player of the year saw only limited minutes in four games, and has now been sidelined for the last two with lingering soreness.

The Celtics announced Tuesday that Garnett would miss at least the next four games, leaving his availability for the start of the postseason in doubt.

"We assumed we were going to practice him, and right now, we're not even going to do that," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "We're going to shut him down until the soreness goes away and the swelling goes away and then we bring him back up."

Still in need of victories if they hope to overtake Orlando for the No. 2 seed in the East, the Celtics have overcome Garnett's absence to win their last two games. Glen Davis, starting those games in place of Garnett, has notched a pair of double-doubles by averaging 19.0 points and 11.0 rebounds.

With reserve forward Leon Powe also sidelined, Boston has also received increasing contributions off the bench from newcomer Mikki Moore. The former Sacramento forward matched a season high with 12 points and added 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season in Sunday night's 103-84 win over Oklahoma City, which opened the Celtics' five-game homestand.

"It's a big adjustment. (Garnett's) the center of everything," Moore said. "He enthuses guys to come out and play hard. We're going to miss his presence out on the floor, but he's always in the locker room or on the sideline out there talking to us. We'll be all right."

The Celtics still trail the Magic by one game in the loss column, although the teams are in a virtual tie with Boston having played two more games.

The Bobcats are also in a tight race in the East, although the stakes are higher. Charlotte and eighth-place Chicago are now tied in the loss column, although the Bulls have two more victories for a slight edge as the teams chase the final playoff spot.

Charlotte has looked intent on earning the first postseason berth in franchise history in recent weeks, winning six of its last eight and 12 of 17. Its impressive 94-84 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night was the third straight victory for coach Larry Brown's team.

"It gives us a big chance to make it to the playoffs this season," Charlotte reserve forward Vladimir Radmanovic said.

A balanced attack has keyed the Bobcats' recent run, six players scored in double figures against the Lakers, led by 21 points and 13 rebounds by Gerald Wallace.

The team has now won six of seven against Los Angeles, and has also been undaunted by Boston, which lost 114-106 in overtime in Charlotte on January 6.

"They come in and intimidate you and try to punk you," Charlotte rookie D.J. Augustin said of the Celtics after that game. "But if you don't back down from them, they kind of fold."

The Bobcats also won 95-83 in Boston last season, and they have a one-point loss and a five-point defeat in the series since the start of the 2007-08 campaign.