Rajon Rondo and Rasheed Wallace were limited during Boston's practice on Monday.

Rondo dealt with muscle spasms during the Eastern Conference Finals against Orlando, while Wallace had back issues in the final two games of the series.

"Rondo felt pretty good, he went 75-80 percent of practice," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "Rasheed is not right yet, he did the skeleton offense stuff, but other than that, we didn't allow any contact. So if we have a concern right now with anybody, [Wallace] would be the only one."

The Hornets have begun negotiations with representatives for Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, according to league sources.

New Orleans general manager Jeff Bower has exchanged proposals with Creative Artists Agency, which represents Thibodeau, on parameters of a possible contract.

Despite the seriousness of the talks, Thibodeau still plans to meet with the Nets about their vacant coaching job before the start of the NBA Finals on Thursday.

He is also believed to be interested in coaching the Bulls.

Lakers forward Lamar Odom isn't sure he wants his wife, reality television star Khloe Kardashian, sitting among the fans in Boston during the NBA Finals.

"They gave it to my kids last time in Boston," Odom said of the 2008 matchup between the two clubs.

"I don't know how my wife is going to be able to sit in the crowd," Odom continued, later adding that security might be needed.

Celtics general manager Danny Ainge is making it clear that he wants head coach Doc Rivers to remain with the team.

Rivers hasn't discussed his future much, but he's believed to be thinking about leaving the team with one year left on his contract.

"Doc knows I want him to stay, and it's something we'll discuss three or four weeks from now," Ainge said.

"That's the way he's approached it every year, and that's how it will be this time. But I have nothing else to say about that."

Many believe that Rivers has done his best coaching job this season, leading an old Celtics team all the way to the NBA Finals.

"I don't think that's even a realistic question, because Doc has always been a good coach," Ainge said of whether he considers this to be Doc's best performance. "Had he done the same things, and Rajon (Rondo) took a tumble in the first game and not come back, this still would have been a good coaching job.

"But I don't think he's necessarily done a better job than even last year - he just has a real bond with this group of guys. I trust Doc, and so does ownership, to do what he thinks is best."

The Lakers lost to the Celtics in the NBA Finals two seasons ago, something that is undoubtedly fresh on the mind of superstar Kobe Bryant.

Right after Los Angeles eliminated Phoenix to stamp their ticket to the Finals, and another matchup with Boston, Bryant said that the opponent didn't matter.

Regardless, the future Hall of Famer is looking forward to the challenge.

"Just looking forward to the challenge of it," Bryant said.

"Last time we played them, it was a great learning experience for us. It taught us what it takes to be a champion. With the defensive intensity they play with, the tenacity they play with, we learned a great deal in that series."

Celtics captain Paul Pierce says the team's reserves have been key to their postseason success.

"Somewhere along the line these guys that are role players that people don't really talk about come along and help us win games," Pierce said. "They really get overlooked."

Boston has gotten help from Glen Davis, Tony Allen, Rasheed Wallace and Nate Robinson in their run to the NBA Finals.

"If you look at our team over the last couple years, three years, we brought guys in the middle of the year to help us in these types of situations when we get to the playoffs," Pierce said. "Last year we were injured. The year before it was P.J. Brown who came up big and won a game for us versus Cleveland, and this year it was Nate."

When the Celtics won the title in 2008 they had Brown, James Posey, Leon Powe, Eddie House and Sam Cassell coming off the bench.

After finishing off the Suns in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday night, Kobe Bryant downplayed the team's upcoming matchup with the Celtics.

"I didn't give a damn who we played [in the Finals]," Bryant said after the clinching game. "Didn't matter to me."

With that said, Bryant understands why people are excited about a Lakers-Celtics pairing in the NBA Finals.

"There's a lot of things that people can write about and talk about. It's a sexy matchup," he admitted.

Kobe Bryant wrapped up a magnificent series with 37 points, Ron Artest added 25 and the Lakers held off the Suns 111-103 on Saturday night to win the Western Conference finals, as reported by the Associated Press.

The Lakers and Celtics will meet in the finals for the 12th time with Game 1 Thursday night in Los Angeles.

?We?ll see how much we matured,? Bryant said. ?They challenged us extremely well in the finals a couple years ago. Now is a chance to see how much we?ve grown.?

Doc Rivers said after Friday night's Game 6 win over the Magic that he's concerned about Rasheed Wallace.

Wallace, who has battled a bad back, left Friday's game early with back spasms and did not return.

Rivers was asked after the game how point guard Rajon Rondo, who took a hard fall in the first quarter and spent a majority of the second on the sideline with ice on his back, was doing, but he expressed worry about Wallace.

"Yeah, he's going to be okay, I'm more concerned with Rasheed, honestly," Rivers said. "Rasheed got tight, you could see it. I will say this about Rasheed and Baby neither one of them was in great shape tonight. You could see that.

"Rasheed could not move. He looked old tonight because of his back. And I told him when he came back. You could see him in pain, and I said thank you for giving me the minutes you gave me, so that's our concern but we have time, so I think by Thursday we'll be good."

The Celtics will next play on Thursday against either the Lakers or Suns in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The Celtics defeated the Magic 96-84 on Friday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to their second NBA Finals in three seasons.

Paul Pierce starred for Boston, posting 31 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

Dwight Howard led the Magic in defeat, recording 28 points and 12 rebounds.

Boston jumped out to a 30-19 lead after the first quarter and never trailed again.