after getting hit by an inadvertent elbow from Brian Scalabrine during
Thursday's practice. Pierce wasn't the only victim of Scalabrine's
physicality in practice as J.R. Giddens got hit on the top of the head.
"It went great," coach Doc Rivers said of Scalabrine's return from
back spasms. "He elbowed one guy in the head and hit another guy, so
he's back. Scal's back."
None of the injuries are expected to force any players to miss Friday's game against Atlanta.
Scal is pissed off… at the cameraman who set off this entire chain of events. He sprained his ankle stepping on the camera guy during the final preseason game in NY:
“This is the first time I’ve ever sprained my ankle in my entire
life,” Scalabrine said. “I watched the film. He was 6 inches over the
line, 6 inches that I needed to take the ball out of bounds.
“We’re trained to use the space that we are allowed. I’ve taken the
ball out of bounds probably 10,000 times in my life, and as long as
you’re behind that line I won’t hit you. But if you’re over that line,
we’re trained to use that space. I went back to pivot and go, and as I
went back, his foot was right there.”
And the ankle injury lead to the back problems…
The back problem was caused by stiffness in his hips, and while the
evidence tracing it to the ankle problem is mainly circumstantial,
Scalabrine is fairly convinced.
“I think so, because when you’re on the shelf and not getting your full stride and running, your hips can get tight,” he said.
We're just lucky this crazy story didn't end with Paul Pierce suffering a concussion.
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