The Celtics came to terms with swingman Sasha Pavlovic on Wednesday evening, and it didn't take long for the new guy to show up for his first day of work. Pavlovic was in uniform for the C's practice on Thursday afternoon, and he had a blast.
"I'm happy, man," Pavlovic said. "It's the Boston Celtics. Who wouldn't be?"
Pavlovic, who wore a white No. 47 practice jersey for his first day, will switch to uniform No. 77 on Friday night at the TD Garden, where he'll be active as the C's take on the Golden State Warriors. The C's are hoping to get something out of Pavlovic right away.
"Experience. Depth," coach Doc Rivers said. One of the things we've always liked about him is he's a competitive defender. He doesn't back down from anyone. I think we can fit in well with us. He's a skilled player."
Pavlovic has played only 14 games this season — 10 in January with the Dallas Mavericks, and four in February with the New Orleans Hornets. March is a new month and a new ballclub for the 27-year-old Serbian.
While he's been a journeyman for the last two seasons, Pavlovic is best known for spending five years in Cleveland, sometimes starting at shooting guard and sometimes backing up LeBron James at small forward. Rivers remembers Pavlovic playing a key role on the Cavs team that pushed Boston to seven games in the East semifinals in 2008.
"He didn't play consistent minutes, but he was pretty good," the C's coach recalled. "He had one game against us at the Garden where they isolated him offensively, and he basically kicked our butts. I've reminded Paul [Pierce] and Ray [Allen] of that quite a lot over the last couple of days.
"What I've always liked about him is he'll play a minute, or five minutes, and defensively, you can see they trust him. He can guard anybody, he doesn't care who you are. I like that."
Now that he's in Boston, Pavlovic won't be a major part of the postseason plan. He's mainly around for injury insurance, as Jeff Green and Delonte West are likely to be the main wing players backing up Pierce and Allen. But no matter what his role, Pavlovic is ready to be a contributor in Boston.
"I'm excited to be here," he said. "I've talked to Danny Ainge, I've talked to Coach, and I'm excited. I'm ready to do whatever this team needs me to do."
