Addition of Moore could bolster Celtics' playoff run

As the race for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs heats up, the Boston Celtics are looking for an X-factor to bolster their frontcourt.

Because of the retirement of P.J. Brown and James Posey's offseason departure via free agency, the Celtics have been thin in the post all season. The frontline grew more emaciated when Kevin Garnett strained his knee on Feb. 19 against the Jazz. The Celtics' All-Star is estimated to be out for two to three weeks.

So Boston has turned to the recently released Mikki Moore. After clearing waivers on Tuesday, the Celtics signed the 7-footer, instantly giving them some added punch ... though more on the offensive end than the defensive one, according to one NBA scout.

"I think he's an improvement over Big Baby [Glen Davis] and Leon Powe in regards to offense," the scout said. "He'll give them a little more length and size, but he's not as strong as those two and not as good a rebounder.

"Defensively, he won't have a problem with Boston's schemes. He should be a good team defensive guy."

Moore -- who has only played 749 minutes in 46 games with Sacramento this season -- may be called upon for quality minutes in Garnett's absence. So far, the Celtics have weathered KG's injury well, scoring a combined 242 points in two wins over Phoenix and Denver.

Last year when Garnett missed nine games with an abdominal strain, the Celtics went 7-2 because they have two other All-Stars to carry the load.

"KG is the heart and soul, but Paul Pierce is the guy," said the scout. "He's the star. When teams game plan for the Celtics, they game plan for Pierce first, then everyone else. He can easily score 30 a night.

"And then, there's Ray Allen, who's had a phenomenal season."

The Celtics can score, but what about the defensive end, where Garnett not only allowed the guards to apply pressure on the ball but also erased a ton of mistakes at the rim

"They're so excellent on team defense ... they'll be OK," the scout said. "Will they give up more points and layups? Probably. But with the way their scheme is defensively, I think they're OK for that two- to three-week period."

Boston has seven games -- four at home, three on the road -- in those three weeks. The Celtics' toughest test starts with a three-game stretch that begins on March 6 with the Cavs, the team they're pursuing for home-court advantage in the East. On March 8, the Celtics host the Magic, the team they're trying to hold off. Then Boston gets two days off before it ends the stretch with a game in Miami on March 11.

Shake-N-Bake Nate

Since leaping Dwight "Superman" Howard in a single bound to win the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk title, the Knicks' Nate Robinson is still flying high.

Sandwiched around an appearance on "Late Show with David Letterman" last Thursday where he performed a hyper-athletic version of "Stupid Human Tricks" by leaping over stagehand/comic foil Biff Henderson and exchanging courtside fist bumps with his comedy hero, Will Ferrell, on Monday, Robinson has played spectacular basketball.

The 5-foot-9 guard has averaged 29.3 points per game in the Knicks' four games since the break, including a 41-point performance off the bench in the Knicks' 123-119 win over the Pacers on Monday. Robinson's 41 points tied Bob McAdoo for the most points from a reserve in Knicks history. The Knicks can thank Ferrell -- who's now on Broadway portraying George W. Bush in "You're Welcome, America" -- for Robinson's inspiration.

"I'm a big fan of Will," Robinson said. "I love all his movies. I wanted to show my appreciation for making me laugh all these years. I had so much energy. I wanted to play well for my teammates and fans, but especially him."

Stephon and On and On ...

The never-ending Stephon Marbury saga dragged on as Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters on Monday that he will miss practice to attend an arbitration hearing on Tuesday.

"It's not a great situation for anybody. I hate it for Steph, I hate it for the Knicks, I hate it for everybody. But it's just something we're doing and we'll deal with it and get it over with," D'Antoni said. "There's a lot worse things in the world going on, so we'll just deal with the problem and do the best we can."

The hearing centers around a grievance Marbury filed against the Knicks, who suspended and fined him $400,000 for reportedly refusing to play on Nov. 26 in Detroit. Reports also have Knicks president Donnie Walsh and Marbury meeting soon after the hearing to resume talks of a buyout.

The two sides last met on Dec. 1. Marbury made the meeting brief, quickly leaving the Knicks' practice facility after 20 minutes.

Marbury may want to stick around for as long as it takes this time. If he wants participate in the playoffs, Marbury needs to be on a roster by March 1.

What They're Saying

"I am that fast."

-- Nets point guard Devin Harris, explaining how he could his catch an inbounds pass, dribble 30 feet, fumble, regroup, shoot and hit a half-court shot all in 1.8 seconds. He did that Monday at the IZOD Center to lift the Nets to an improbable 98-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

"I just had to coach myself; I just had to sit down and be quiet and watch the show like everybody else."

-- Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown on LeBron James' 55-point performance in Milwaukee last Friday. James scored 16 points in three minutes to open the second half.

"It's the hardest 48 minutes you're going to play."

-- Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade on the difficulties of guarding the Orlando Magic.

Behind the Numbers

.841 -- The combined home winning percentage (90-17) of the Cavaliers, Celtics, Magic and Hawks, the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference.

15 -- Number of Pacers games this season decided by three points or fewer; they're 6-9 in those games.

15.0 -- The average difference in points scored by the Celtics in wins (104.8) compared to losses (89.8), second only to the Nets' 15.1-point difference.

Layups

The Pistons have lost six consecutive games for the first time since 2004. At 27-27, Detroit would need to finish 23-5 in its last 28 games to reach 50 wins for the seventh consecutive season ... The Wizards' Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood participated in non-contract drills on Monday. Neither Arenas (knee surgery) nor Haywood (broken wrist) have played this season ... The Wizards are 0-12 against their Southeast Division foes ... LeBron's 55-point performance in Milwaukee was the seventh 50-point performance in his career. He has broached the 50-point mark twice against Milwaukee and twice against the Knicks.