Celtics Tout Versatility

The Boston Celtics returned to practice Thursday in Waltham, Mass., with a warning for the New Jersey Nets: We’re much more than Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker.

Those two scored 49.8% of Boston’s points in the regular season and 52.1% so far in the run to the Eastern Conference finals, which begin Sunday at New Jersey.

But the Nets must be ready for the defense of Eric Williams, the shooting of Rodney Rogers and the inside play ofMark Blount. They all helped put the Celtics in the conference finals for the first time since 1988.

“It’s the way we’ve done it,” Walker said as Boston resumed workouts after a day off, “being very gutsy on the defensive end and getting contributions from nine or 10 guys on a night-in and night-out basis.”

Other Celtics agreed.

“We’re able to create mismatches,” Erick Strickland said. “We have a very versatile team.”

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If Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone pursues an off-season trade, he won’t be going to Dallas.

“It’s pretty much impossible for us to do it,” Maverick owner Mark Cuban told the Deseret News.

Last summer, the Jazz and Mavericks explored a deal involving Malone and Juwan Howard, who was eventually traded to Denver.

“When we had Juwan’s contract, there was a sensible way to consider [a trade for Malone],” Cuban said. “Now, I don’t see how we could [do] it in a way that would work for us.”