Rest For The Best

Julien Benbow of the Globe notes:

The Celtics moved a step closer to clinching home court and wrapping up the Eastern Conference last night, picking up their fifth straight win and getting to a spot in the schedule that Rivers has been waiting on for a month after surviving the obstacle course out West.

Two days off. One game. Two days off.

It's like the All-Star break that Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce never got.

The problem is balancing the opportunity to get these guys some rest with the hope of staying razor sharp for the playoffs.

"We talked about it a couple weeks ago," Rivers said. "If we can get to it, we can take advantage of these five days. Whenever you mention that to players, they get excited about that because they see time off."

Garnett, who sheepishly buried his face in the mike, panned his eyes from side to side and said, "Nothing's wrong with rest."