Team welcomes Posey - a day late

WALTHAM - Here's a line that probably no one uttered Friday night on their way out of TD Banknorth Garden: "Gee, what do you think the final score would have been if we had James Posey?"

How many Celtics fans even knew Posey wasn't available because of a league suspension, which not only means he can't play, it also means he can't be in the building? It's safe to say now - after a 20-point pounding of the Wizards in the season opener - that Posey's absence turned out to be unimportant.

That may not be the case this afternoon, when the Celtics take on the 2-0 Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Posey will be available in his sixth man role.

"He's rugged, tough, he can defend anywhere on the floor, and he's a terrific passer," coach Doc Rivers said. "He helps us at both ends of the floor."

Added Washington's Gilbert Arenas, who has an opinion on anything and everything (just ask him), "Once they picked up Posey, I thought that was a great move for them. When you have a team like that, you need glue players."

That's how Rivers views Posey. Before Friday's opener, the coach said he was worried about how his team would play because it had looked stale in practice. Washington had already played once. There also was no Posey and the possibility of no Brian Scalabrine, although he ended up playing.

"That was a realistic fear," Rivers said.

That disappeared after Paul Pierce personally torched Washington in the second quarter, a beating from which the Wizards never recovered.

Now come the Raptors, who, Rivers said, are "really, really good." The Raptors blew out the Nets in New Jersey Friday night.

"I like the challenge for us this early in the season," Rivers said. "They're a great scoring basketball team."

This is where Posey will help. Rivers said he plans to use Posey on both Jorge Garbajosa and Andrea Bargnani. You get the feeling Rivers would use Posey on anyone, which is probably true.

As for Posey himself, he just wants to play. He spent Friday night watching the Celtics win from home. He watched the ESPN coverage. He watched a little bit of his former team, Miami, lose to Indiana.

"It was tough watching them play and not being out there," Posey said. "They played good for the first game. I just wasn't out there with them to help them out a little."

Posey's Friday included a workout at the Celtics' practice facility and a massage. He then went home, got some rest, and turned on the TV.

"That's how my night was," he said.

Nag tag

Here's Arenas's opening-night take on Rajon Rondo: "He does what he has to do. His job is to be there, just follow, nag. Other than that, you have KG [Kevin Garnett] back there, [Kendrick] Perkins back there. He's just there to be a nag and that's his job." . . . Celtics radio announcer Sean Grande unearthed the following nugget from Friday night: Garnett's 20 rebounds were the third most for a Celtic since 2001, trumped only by Al Jefferson's 22 against the Pistons last season and Mark Blount's 21 against Orlando in March 2004 . . . Rookie Glen "Big Baby" Davis and Leon Powe had to be separated by teammates during some informal scrimmaging at the end of practice yesterday. Glen Davis was seen icing his lip area after the workout. Said Rivers, "It happens a lot. It's no big deal. We're a family and a family has fights, hopefully not fistfights. They get over it in a day, maybe two days for a younger player."

Going his way

Rivers on Pierce's second-quarter explosion (15 points), which started with the captain in there along with four subs. "He knows he's the go-to guy. They understand that, which is really nice. Last year, with our young team, they didn't understand Paul was the go-to guy at times." . . . The Raptors will be looking to go 3-0 for the second time in franchise history, having opened with three straight wins in 2004-05. They ended up 33-49 that season. Last year, when they won 47 games, they lost their opener and eight of the first 10 games. The Celtics will be looking to start the season 2-0 for the first time in the Rivers regime.