According to the Miami Herald, Celtics coach Doc Rivers has jumped to the defense of former Celtic Antoine Walker, saying he didn't deserve the ''freaking heat'' he got from Heat fans earlier in the season.

''When he came here, he knew there would be an adjustment,'' said Rivers, who coached Walker in Boston. ``He didn't do it well early, and I thought people thought that meant he wasn't trying to do it. I always thought he was trying to do the right stuff. It just wasn't working.

``He got so much freaking heat, I was amazed by the criticism he got for trying to fit in, because he didn't fit in the way people wanted. He was unfairly criticized. . . . It's really tough for a guy like Antoine to go from being a guy with the ball in his hand a lot to being a catch-and-shoot [guy]. That's a big role change. I don't think he's gotten comfortable with it until right now, and now you can see it. . . . I felt you had to put the ball in his hands for our team to be effective.''