The Celtics haven't been themselves lately and Rasheed Wallace said after their shocking loss to the Nets on Saturday that the team is "bored."

"No matter if we're bored or not, shoot, you still gotta go out and play the game the right way and get wins," Wallace said.

Even before Saturday's loss to New Jersey, Kendrick Perkins said that the regular season simply wasn't exciting.

"It's different [the 2007-08 season], guys are really anxious to get to the playoffs," Perkins said. "You've got veteran guys -- Rasheed, [Kevin Garnett] -- you can tell the regular season, it really don't excite them. Even with Paul [Pierce] and Ray [Allen], but you still gotta go out there and compete, it's not an excuse for losing. Guys just really want to get to crunch time."

Shaquille O'Neal suffered a severely sprained right thumb in the first half of the Cavs' game in Boston on Thursday night.  The Cavs beat the Celtics, 108-88.

O'Neal did not play in the second half.  He will be re-evaluated to determine how long the injury will keep him out of action.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas reached a buyout agreement with the Wizards but will not be eligible to return to Cleveland until March 21.  The Cavs are considered heavy favorites to re-sign Ilgauskas and may need the veteran center more than ever if O'Neal is sidelined for a significant period of time.

Nate Robinson expressed his frustration at Mike D'Antoni by taking a few shots at his former coach while talking to the New York media before his Celtic debut Tuesday.

"Doc [Rivers], he's honest, he's straightforward, and as a player that's what you like, for a coach to always be honest with you and explain exactly what he wants you to do," said Robinson. "And he's all about winning."

Robinson said he is happy to be in Boston.

"I believe Doc and the Celtics were saying, 'Well if he's sitting, we could use him,'" Robinson said. "So they made the trade happen."

Responding to a question on why he and D'Antoni didn't see eye to eye, Robinson said: "I honestly don't know. I did everything coach asked and I guess that wasn't good enough."

Nate Robinson dressed as a member of the Celtics for the first time on Tuesday, ironically against his former team.

"This is a great opportunity for [me] to be a part of a great, historic team," Robinson said. "There's a lot of pride [in Boston] and there's a lot of history. It's overwhelming to be a part of a franchise that's accustomed to winning."

Robinson averaged 13.2 points per game off the bench for New York.

"[The Knicks] gave me my first opportunity to showcase my talent and be a part of the National Basketball Association," Robinson said. "They gave me my first chance so I'm always going to respect the organization and everything they did for me.

"It's going to be different now wearing green and I'm used to wearing orange and blue but now this is a great opportunity...to learn from some of NBA's greats."

Celtics captain Paul Pierce may take some time off to rest his injured right thumb.

Pierce, appearing on Mohegan Sun's Sports Tonight on Comcast SportsNet, said the sprained thumb remains an issue and might require an extended break from action.

"It's a little banged up right now, so it's something I'm going to think about -- taking a few days off and letting it heal," said Pierce.

"It's really affecting my game and my shot over the last few days. It's definitely something I'll consider with coach [Rivers on Tuesday] morning -- getting it a few days off to rest it."

Pierce has shot 9-for-28 in Boston's last three games and insisted that the injury needs nothing more than a little rest.

"Nothing special [for treatment], just rest and ice over the last few days," said Pierce. "Once the swelling goes down, and I get some mobility in it, I'll be ready."

Celtics captain Paul Pierce sprained his thumb while fighting through a screen against the Lakers on Thursday.

Pierce says that the injury has made it difficult to shoot. He finished Sunday's loss to the Nuggets with a season-low five points on 2-for-10 shooting. Pierce even missed three of his four foul shots.

"There's some pain when I catch the ball, and it's really affecting my shot," he said. "That's the reason I'm not as aggressive."

Pierce is expected to sit down with coach Doc Rivers on Monday to determine whether or not it makes sense for him to sit out a few games to help the thumb heal.

"You can see it on free throws," Rivers said. "The thumb, the knee and the foot, it may have caught up to him right now. We may have to look at getting him some rest. On the surface, that's the way it looks like it's going."

Celtics guard Nate Robinson is not expected to make his debut with the team until next week as he battles a stomach virus.

Robinson has been battling the illness since his final days with the Knicks.

Boston finished a five-game road trip on Sunday afternoon in Denver.

The Celtics are hoping that Robinson will debut on Tuesday night against the Knicks at TD Garden.

Boston acquired Robinson in a five-player deal on Thursday.

Danny Ainge said on WEEI Friday the Celtics pursued deals to acquire star talent including Kevin Martin from Sacramento, Amare Stoudemire from Phoenix and Caron Butler from Washington before landing Nate Robinson from the Knicks.

"We did talk about getting Stoudemire," Ainge said. "I got a sense [Phoenix wasn't] getting the things they wanted. I think they would have moved him, but I think they like Amare. He's a terrific player and they didn't get what they wanted."

Players weren't exactly jumping for joy in the locker room on Thursday upon hearing that the team had acquired Nate Robinson from the Knicks.

Boston send New York a package that included guard Eddie House.

"I would've been fine if we hadn't ... we'll see whether that's the right decision or not," said coach Doc Rivers. "I like this team, I've said it over and over again. I didn't think we needed to make changes."

Rajon Rondo at first declined to discuss the trade, then opened up a bit.

"I don't know, I don't know," said Rondo. "I hope it's for the best. Eddie House can drop 20, 30 [points off the bench] too. But [the players] don't make decision, we just play the game."

Ray Allen didn't feel a trade was necessary.

"I didn't think we were bad," said Allen. "We were good."

Even Lakers coach Phil Jackson got in on the act, questioning Danny Ainge's logic.

"I really don't know about that," he said. "I have a great respect for House's game. I don't know what you can improve on that credible shooting skill that he has. House really has a strike factor in his game that can really disturb a team."

The Boston Celtics announced today that the club has acquired guard Nate Robinson and forward Marcus Landry from the New York Knicks in exchange for guards Eddie House, J.R. Giddens and forward Bill Walker.

?Nate is one of the great athletes in the league and he brings a dynamic scorer to our team,? said Danny Ainge, Celtics President of Basketball Operations. ?We have been seeking a second ball handler capable of penetrating the defense and we believe that he provides that. We love Nate?s ability to pressure the ball defensively and we think he can add to our defense as well as our offense."

Click here to read RealGM's 'Grading the Deal' for this trade.