"I never thought I'd see the day when I struck fear in opponent's hearts."

Anderson Varejao, the man who ran circles around Celtics bigs less than a month ago, will miss today’s game against the Boston Celtics with an injured left hamstring.  Thank God.  I’d hate to see that big, goofy Brazilian destroy my beloved Celtics again with heart and hustle I wish the C’s showed on a daily basis. 

Doc Rivers agrees with me. He had nothing but good things to say about Varejao. (Boston Herald)

“In the first game, Rasheed (Wallace), Perk (Kendrick Perkins) and Kevin (Garnett) dominated that game with their size, with their strength,” said Rivers. “The second two that they won, they beat us on their energy. Varejao has been a superstar in their two wins. He’s dominated the game with his effort, with his quickness. (J.J.) Hickson has played well, and in the little time he played, Leon (Powe) hurt us. So it comes down to that, and then their guard play. Everybody knows that. It’s just tough to stop.”

And how do you do that?

“With muscle,” said Rivers. “With power. By putting bodies on each other. It’s tough for a quick guy to move when a 300-pound guy is leaning on him.”

Varejao’s injury could leave the door open to playing time for Leon Powe. Since scoring 16 points during a March 21 game against Detroit, Powe has only seven total points over his last four games.