Williams still weak in the knee

"The sac behind my knee is filled up with fluid," said Williams. "I've had trouble with this knee for seven years. I hurt it again in the first game, but it really didn't start showing itself until later."

Williams, who is in the final year of his contract, and was shopped by the Celtics over the summer, said he's ready for anything, particularly after his friend and business partner, Antoine Walker, was moved. "This is my last year," he said. "I'd love to be here, but if I'm not, well, I've been through it before. I was traded from here, then traded back. I understand it's part of the deal."

Offensive machine

When the Celtics traded Walker, there was plenty of hand-wringing over who could possibly score besides the one All-Star left standing, Paul Pierce. The premise was that the team would distribute the wealth, and so far, it's working. In fact, according to league statistics, the top-scoring team in the Eastern Conference this morning is none other than your Boston Celtics at 93.7 points per game. "I'm not surprised," Pierce said. "One of our goals is to be one of the league leaders in scoring." Before you break out the record books, keep in mind the season is only three games old for the locals, and only two games old for others. It's a little early to be marking trends. Having said that, who would have guessed Boston would be atop the East in this category? Overall, the Celtics are seventh in the NBA in scoring.

Biding his time

When the Celtics play the Pistons tonight in Auburn Hills, Mich., don't expect to see much of Darko Milicic, the No. 2 pick in last June's draft. He has played only 1 minute in the Pistons' first three games . . . Detroit's rebounding machine, Ben Wallace, has already posted totals of 17, 15, and 17 boards . . . Jim O'Brien said he's comfortable with the progress of Marcus Banks, who has had limited playing time. "This is a tough league for rookie point guards," said O'Brien. "I feel good about where Marcus is, and where he's going. He's playing 15 minutes a game. For a rookie point guard, that's a good start, and it could quickly become 20 minutes, or even 25 minutes." Celtics boss Danny Ainge, who made Banks his first pick here, said, "Marcus is fine. He's a little nervous and tense, because he doesn't get to play a ton of minutes, but that will disappear. I'm not disappointed. Almost every rookie point guard I've seen, even LeBron James, is playing very inconsistently."