US – Friday, July 30

Scal provides a spark

With Perk on the bench, Scalabrine boosts Boston

At 6-foot-9, Brian Scalabrine is hardly tall enough to fill the role of an imposing center. And his quicksand quickness is barely ample to keep up with the league’s electric forwards.

But what Scalabrine lacks in overpowering physical attributes, he makes up for with his knowledge of the Celtics’ system, which has made him more than capable to step into the starting lineup for the injured Kendrick Perkins this week.

Doc Rivers has called Scalabrine a nag, someone who opponents hate to play against because he’s always in the right spot on the floor. What has stuck out most about Scalabrine, who hasn’t played in 11 of the C’s 41 games this season because he’s often the 11th man in the rotation, is the fact that he never hurts his team, especially defensively.

Starting with four potential All-Stars, Scalabrine isn’t asked to do much. Still, he hasn’t balked while guarding the Raptors’ tough shooters on the perimeter, and he’s done a commendable job screening point guards on the pick-and-roll. When the Nets’ forwards tried pushing him into the low post Wednesday night, Scalabrine forced them further outside.

“I’m more of a position defender,” said Scalabrine, who is averaging nine points in three starts this week. “I like to fight him early. If a foot is the difference, he likes to post at eight feet and I get him out to 10 feet, that makes a big difference.”

While it clearly says more about his supporting cast than Scalabrine himself, it’s worth noting the Celtics are 11-2 in the last two seasons when he is in the starting lineup, including 4-0 this season.

Perkins could be ready to return Monday against the Suns — “Perk is the guy who should be on the Diesel,” Scalabrine said, referring to a possible matchup against Shaquille O’Neal — and Scalabrine will return to the bench. But his versatility will keep him in the rotation, whether it be as a center or shooting guard.

“I’m having fun competing at a high level,” Scalabrine said. “It’s not like going to have fun at the YMCA or something like that. It’s different. It’s high-level basketball. It’s high-level preparation. There are certain things we do, like we can’t make mistakes with a rotation. Guys count on you, and teams count on you.”