Nate Robinson was present at the Celtics' Saturday afternoon practice at their facility in Waltham, but he still wasn't able to engage in full-contact drills with his teammates. The C's reserve guard is still feeling the effects of a bruised right knee suffered early in the team's loss Thursday night to the L.A. Lakers.
"He didn't practice, but I think he'll play [Sunday]," said coach Doc Rivers, referring to the C's showdown Sunday afternoon with the Miami Heat. "We'll see. He didn't practice, but he did go through some of our walkthrough stuff. We'll see if he plays. I think so, but we really don't know."
Robinson says he had a painful collision with Lakers guard Shannon Brown in the act of shooting, and he's been sore ever since. He's now taking the necessary precautions to make sure the knee recovers.
"When [Brown] shot, I got too close," Robinson said. "When I landed, he landed at the same time, and we hit knees perfectly. Doc said it was like a perfect hit. It didn't swell, but the pain in there is kind of funky right now. I'm still icing it."
When asked about playing against the Heat on Sunday afternoon, Robinson responded, "Hope so." He's wearing a knee brace and getting regular treatments from the Celtics' training staff, so he thinks he'll be ready to go.
In other Celtics injury news, Delonte West continues practicing with the team but isn't quite ready for game action.
"We're hoping he plays Wednesday," Rivers said. "It would be great for him to get a game in before the [All-Star] break."
The C's three backup centers — Shaquille O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal and Semih Erden — are all out of commission this week, and there's still no update on the spinal cord condition of Marquis Daniels.
