Krstic sees silver lining in injury



Krstic could return to action as soon as tonight agains the Sixers. In the WEEI video above he asserts that he thinks he will be ready for at least the playoffs.

The Serbian seven-footer also sees a bit of a silver lining to his injury. After a strong start to his Celtics career, Krstic had tapered off. When he first got to the team he didn't know the system very well. He was just playing and not worrying if he made any mistakes because he had that excuse. However, after learning the system he began to do more thinking than acting and it effected his performance.

Since being sidelined last Thursday against the Spurs, Krstic had taken on the role of a back up quarterback, watching and learning from the bench. He think it's helped a lot.

“Maybe these two games I missed are a good thing," said Krstic after Monday's practice. "Everything is going to settle down in my head. I was on the side, watching plays and watching how guys play. We’ll see. I have six more games to pick it up. I think I’ll be ready for the playoffs.”

As for the injury itself, Nenad thinks all he has left are some mental hurdles.

“Mentally, I’m not 100 percent," said Krstic after Monday's practice. "My knee, I still feel pain but MRI showed it’s nothing really serious so I can get through that pain. I know it’s not going to get serious. Mentally, it’s just the first practice after. It was really tough for me. I was thinking it was more serious when it [happened] but maybe it’s still in my head.”

If Nenad truly has learned a lot from being a spectator, that's a great sign for the Celtics. With Shaq unaccountable and Jermaine just returning from his own injury, Krstic could lend a big hand in a playoff run.