"I just sat around the house all day [Sunday] and tried to relax," Allen said. "Nowadays with days off, you need a day off from the day off because on your day off you need to get things done that you need to get done. You need another day off not to do anything."
A victory over the Bulls in Game 6 at Chicago would have given the Celtics three days before the second round. But they blew an 8-point lead in regulation and lost in three overtimes, setting up Game 7 Saturday.
Rivers was so worried about the Celtics' fatigue that he kept having water sent to his players on the flight back to Boston.
"I wish we could've got it, but we didn't," said Celtics center Kendrick Perkins, about not winning the series in six.
The battered Celtics are already without injured big men Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe. And with the reserves struggling for most of the Bulls series, the Celtics relied heavily on their starters to log huge minutes. Rajon Rondo, Allen, Paul Pierce, and Glen Davis all averaged at least 40 minutes per game against the Bulls, while Perkins averaged 37.9. Rondo was also playing on two sore feet and Pierce ran with a slight limp after being kicked in Game 7.
Considering the grind of that tough series, physical and mental rest was a must Sunday.
"I tried to get a lot of rest and a lot of water in my system and just go from there," Perkins said. "The main thing is, we didn't have a practice to get your mind set and ready. You couldn't watch as much film as you possibly can."
The Celtics had only one day to prepare for Orlando; scouting books were left in the players' cars Saturday, before they had eliminated the Bulls. So they basically entered Game 1 last night with a "Cliffs Notes" scouting report in hand and a lengthy shootaround to prepare. Perkins said a lack of focus was the result.
"We weren't locked in, focused from the shootaround from the time we walked into the building," Perkins said. "There was a lot of laughing. There was a lot of joking around before the game. We weren't really locked in. That's what happens."
