Kareem Rush, Traffic, and the Boston Celtics

It's a few minutes before tip off here at the Boston Garden (I still call it such). Here's the news:

1.) Kareem Rush will start at shooting guard instead of Willie Green, who isn't playing tonight because of the sore ankle he aggravated Saturday against the Pacers. Head coach Tony DiLeo said he is going with Rush because he wants to continue to bring Lou Williams off the bench as a spark. DiLeo said Rush played the two-spot yesterday at practice and they decided to go with that same lineup. I spoke with both Rush and DiLeo. Rush didn't know he was starting. But he said he'll approach it as an opportunity. Rush has kept his shot in shape all season, always shooting extra after practice. DiLeo said it would, obviously, be a great boast to this squad tonight if Rush could come in and spread the floor and knock down a few three-pointers. And if that's not the case, DiLeo said they would go with Plan B (which I would guess would be Lou Williams at times, and then also Marreese Speights at the power forward and Iguodala at the shooting guard).

Also, Theo Ratliff is out with the flu.

2.) Traffic in Boston is unbelievable tonight. The Sixers had two buses coming to the arena. The first one took 55 minutes to get here (it took 10-15 this morning for shootaround). The second bus didn't arrive until 6:45. Let's say they were a little stressed. Probably not the best way to start a game against the NBA's best team. But, since I witnessed the madness that was this evening's traffic, I can attest that it was unavoidable.

Back to Rush. He took a cab to the arena with Royal Ivey and at least one other player. They beat the traffic and were working on their jumpshots well before the first bus arrived.

15 minutes until this game ...

--Kate