Doc Rivers Speaks for Celtics Regarding Von Wafer-Delonte West Locker-Room Fight

Hours after the dust had settled on an alleged locker-room skirmish between Delonte West and Von Wafer, the official stance of the Celtics players in the locker room was a simple one: denial.

“You’ve got to talk to Doc [Rivers] and Danny [Ainge],” said Wafer, desperately trying to downplay the issue. “I don’t know nothing about it. This is my first time hearing about it.”

Wafer repeated the words, “You’ve got to talk to Doc and Danny” six times during his brief meeting with the media. So eventually, everyone did.

“There was a fight, and that’s all you need to know,” Rivers said prior to Friday night’s game against the Knicks. “I’m going to leave it alone. Obviously, I’m not really thrilled with it, but it happened, and we’ll handle it.”

Chemistry between the Celtics’ two backup guards has been an ongoing problem this October, as tensions flared during a post-practice scrimmage on Sunday afternoon. The animosity boiled over Friday, and the Celtics are now in damage-control mode. Fortunately, they’ve been there before.

“They happen,” Rivers said of locker-room altercations. “Some, you’re fine with them, and some, you’re not. But let’s talk about the Knicks. I’d prefer that.”

Across the board, the Celtics’ mindset is solely looking ahead, focusing on their next game.

“I only want to talk about the Knicks,” said Rajon Rondo. “We’ve got a game tonight.”

When asked if he could “move past this,” Wafer was ready with the quick sarcastic comeback.

“What, past the Knicks?” he asked. “Yeah, I think if we play good, we can beat the Knicks.”