C.J. Leslie had the senior night everyone always wishes they could have.

He threw the ball off the backboard to himself for TWO SEPARATE DUNKS, caught countless lobs, and hammered down infinite dunks.

Actually, I lied. Not everyone envisions a senior night like this. I just wanted to hit a three-pointer or two and come away with the ‘W.’ I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to throw myself an alley-oop off the backboard.

Al Jefferson has been charged with fourth degree driving while impaired, after being arrested early Sunday morning in Minnesota. (ESPN)

Minnesota center Al Jefferson was arrested early Sunday morning for allegedly driving drunk, according to multiple media reports.

Jefferson was charged with fourth degree driving while impaired, a misdemeanor.

Jefferson was pulled over for driving 56 mph in a 40 mph zone, after having changed lines without using his blinker and then driving outside the lane line.

Lt. Eric Roeske said he could not reveal Jefferson’s blood alcohol level, but that it was higher than the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Big Al still holds a place in many Celtics fans hearts.

In today’s Boston Herald, Steve Bulpett argued that Doc Rivers was not the problem for the struggling Celtics.

Rivers isn’t perfect, but the coach isn’t this team’s problem.

To those who claim the fault lies not in the stars, we say only this: The hell it doesn’t.

The Celtics have gone 13-16 since Christmas Day because the well-heeled people in sneakers neglect to follow directions. And when one player doesn’t make a defensive rotation, it looks like The Three Stooges trying to squeeze through a doorway at the same time.

Quibble with Rivers’ substitution pattern if you like, but there is no reason that whatever quintet is on the floor should choose not to execute the plans as set forth by the staff.

Isn’t that exactly what a coach losing his team is? That his advice, no matter how well its been proven to help win games, falls on deaf ears? I wrote a piece after the New Orleans Hornets game before the All-Star break about Rivers perhaps losing his team, and it still seems the same way.

For months, Rivers has been preaching about playing well for 48 minutes. The Celtics still haven’t put together a complete game.

For months, he’s asked for improved defensive intensity. The Celtics are still going through the motions.

For months, he’s asked for better ball movement. The Celtics still go through long stretches of one-on-one play.

Rivers put a sign in the locker room before yesterday’s game that read, “Individuals win games, teams win championships.” They proceeded to get waxed by a bunch of untalented individuals who can barely qualify as an NBA team.

It’s the players’ job to go out on the floor and execute. But it’s the coach’s job to motivate them to do so. Right now, nobody’s doing his job correctly.

The Boston Celtics are interested in signing Zydrunas Ilgauskas for the season’s stretch run, according to the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn.  Ilgauskas, who was traded to Washington from Cleveland, is still expected to resign with Cleveland when the 30-day period during which bought-out players cannot sign with their former teams passes.

Ilgauskas will have to fight for a job on the Cavaliers, who are stocked in the frontcourt. And teams such as the Hawks, Mavericks, and Celtics are interested in Ilgauskas, a solid center with shooting skills off the pick-and-roll.

I’m not sure how Ilgauskas fits in Boston. Rasheed Wallace is already the C’s backup center, and Perk has done a good job at center. Ilgauskas is a solid player with good shooting ability, but I don’t see how he makes the rotation any better, except as injury insurance.

Paul Pierce had a front-row seat for the New Jersey Humiliation. He could be back in action Tuesday. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Paul Pierce will travel to Detroit for Boston’s Tuesday-night game against the Detroit Pistons, but the team is still unsure whether he’ll play. (Boston Globe)

Rivers said Paul Pierce would travel with the team for Tuesday’s matchup against Detroit, but left the window for his return broad, calling it “sometime next week”

“He’s looking good,” Rivers said. “He’s running good and he’s catching the ball without any pain right now, so that’s a good thing.”

If he doesn’t play against the Pistons, Pierce could potentially return when the Celtics play the Bobcats on Wednesday, 76ers on Friday, or the Wizards on Sunday.

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Kevin Garnett looked great yesterday, but his Celtics were certainly wince-worthy. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “Garnett stepped to the podium and breathed a heavy sigh after Saturday’s game. Asked initially about the loss he said, ‘I got nothing to say, I feel disgusted.’ Later he expanded: ‘I’m not going to sit up here and give a bunch of excuses, that’s not my style. You lose, you lose. They kicked our asses tonight. Period. Point blank. Players have to do more, including myself. We all have to dig deep and see what we’re made of as a team. Seriously.’ Seriously. The NBA season is in its last trimester. The Celtics look like a dad-to-be who’s just realized the baby is going to be here sooner than later. Maybe it’s time to paint the nursery and set up the crib. ‘There’s too much heart and drive, we’ll find a way to figure something out,’ Wallace said. ‘No one in here is giving up. Just because we didn’t [beat the Nets], that’s not the end of the season. No one in here is giving up. There’s too much basketball knowledge to let this go away.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘I think so,’ he said. ‘That’s what it is. Doc gives us direction, and guys have to go out there and follow the plan and execute. That’s all it is. I’m not going to sit up here and give a whole bunch of excuses. That’s not my style. You know, you lose, you lose. They kicked our (butt) tonight, period. Point blank.Players have to do more, including myself. We’ve all got to dig deep and see what we’re made of as a team. Seriously.’ Added Rasheed Wallace: ‘Oh, definitely it’s in this room. . . . We’re the ones out there on the floor. Doc can only do but so much. So we can’t sit up there and say, ‘Oh, it’s Doc’s fault that we lost or Doc’s not doing this or Doc’s not doing that.’ Doc’s not out there on the floor. It’s the five guys that are out there.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘I don’t know how many wake-up calls we need, really,’ said Kendrick Perkins (2 points, 2 rebounds). ‘We done got a few this year.’ Coming off their most lopsided loss of the season, 108-88 to Cleveland Thursday, the Celtics took what will likely be their most embarrassing defeat yesterday, falling to a woeful Nets team on a home court they’ve struggled to protect all year (16-11). Coach Doc Rivers was at a loss to explain it. ‘It’s just a mind-set that we’ve really struggled getting them out of,’ he said. ‘It’s just a team that’s absolutely relaxed, and that’s on me. So I’ve got to keep working.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘Honestly I’m coaching this year, you know what I mean?’ Rivers said. ‘So that stuff I could care less about. I could care less about anything past this season, because as a coach you have to coach this year. I’ll let Danny, Wyc (Grousbeck, the C’s co-owner) and all those other guys worry about the future. But this team is built for right now. . . . After that we’ll see. But I believe this team’s good enough to win a world championship. This team. I don’t think we’ve proven that. I think we still have to prove that. And we can talk about it all day, but at some point we have to show it – and I don’t think we’ve shown it. But I still believe that.’ As for any potential benefit from Ainge supporting concepts the coach already has offered the team, Rivers said, ‘I don’t think that matters. I think at the end of the day it’s in the locker room, and it’s going to have to come out of the locker room. I can talk about it. Danny, Wyc, you know, whoever, Bill Walton . . . it doesn’t matter. At some point it’s going to have to come out of the locker room. And it will, and I believe that. But it hasn’t consistently yet. It has in stretches, but nothing consistently yet. We haven’t been able to sustain a game. Even in some of our good wins we haven’t been able to sustain 48 minutes yet. So that has to come from in the locker room.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “‘Yeah, two in a row, back-to-back home games,’ said Rondo. ‘That’s what we talked about coming out of the road trip, that we wanted to come back and sustain homecourt advantage and take advantage of playing at home. Not right now, guys are coming in thinking they can win at the Garden, and last year it was totally opposite.’”

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald – “Garnett, whose balky right knee remains closely monitored, showed his full repertoire, drilling his patented mid-range jump shots while also finishing at the rim. ‘I liked that he was aggressive,’ Rivers said. ‘Kevin is so unselfish, as everyone who’s been here knows. . . . Kevin is so 100 percent about the team, he’s always thinking ball movement early. One of the things we told him, ‘We are moving it – to you. And we want you to look at it.’ I thought he did a great job of that early on.’”

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (thomasking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.