This Rajon Rondo, in particular, is worth every red cent. And so now that the Celtics reportedly have rewarded Rondo with a five-year contract extension worth in the neighborhood of $55 million, it is incumbent upon Rondo to continue earning his money.

The Celtics will not be the only ones far better off for it.

Rondo will be, too.

The Celtics are a perfect 4-0 today following yesterday’s 97-87 win over Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets, and a funny thing has happened as the Celts look to fulfill Rasheed Wallace’s preseason prediction of 72 victories: Rondo has been perhaps their best player. While Celtics coach Doc Rivers was praising captain Paul Pierce after his team’s latest victory -- "He’s been absolutely amazing," Rivers told reporters -- Pierce was transferring the praise to Rondo.

"I think he’s just mature," Pierce said in his postgame press conference. "He understands that he’s the quarterback out there, and he understands he has to do it with his defense and his distribution. He understands that we have so many weapons out there . . . I said to Rondo a couple of years ago, he should lead this league in assists with the weapons that we have out there. He’s doing a great job facilitating offense and being the quarterback. He understands that he doesn’t have to score. Last year, I think he scored a little bit more. I think that was due to a lot of the injuries we had and him just stepping up in that category. But what he’s been doing these four games into the season, his maturity has been tremendous to watch."

So has his performance.

As for the contract extension, it really was only a matter of time. If the Celtics didn’t sign Rondo before tonight’s midnight deadline -- funny how that 48-hour extension facilitated a deal, eh? -- they would have signed him in the spring, even if they had to match an offer. When you get right down to it, the final numbers were all that were to be determined. Rondo had no leverage to go anywhere, yet the Celtics paid him essentially what he asked for from the start. The Celtics and agent Bill Duffy played negotiating games from the moment Danny Ainge went public with criticism of Rondo last summer, following a postseason during which Rondo almost averaged a triple double.

These Celtics are far healthier and far more talented than the Celtics of last spring, and let the record show that Rondo has tailored his game to match. So far this season, Rondo has taken 23 shots in four games -- during last spring’s first-round series against the Bulls, he twice took more than 20 shots in a single game -- and piled up more assists (47) than any player in the league. Only Steve Nash has more assists per game (42 in three games, an average of 14.0). Rondo has the best assist-to-turnover ratio of any starting point guard in basketball at the moment (5.22 to 1). For every turnover he has committed (nine), he has taken more than his share back (10 steals).

Ultimately, isn’t that all what a point guard is supposed to do? Run the offense and set up the scorers. Protect the ball. Play good defense. Score when necessary, which is almost never at this particular point in time. For the new-and-improved Celtics, Rondo has options the way the Tom Brady of 2007 had receivers, from Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace and even Marquis Daniels.

On Friday during the Celtics' 118-90 dismantling of the Chicago Bulls at the TD Garden, Rondo took two shots. Two. He finished with 16 assists, turning the kind of pure point guard performance that would have made John Stockton beam. He also grabbed eight rebounds.

With regard to Rondo’s development, we all understand the issues here. At times during last postseason, Rondo looked more interested in collecting triple-doubles than he did in winning games. Despite his generally stellar play, he made some bad decisions and took some ill-advised shots. So far this year, those mistakes have been weeded out. The result has been a Rondo who has been playing like one of the truly elite point guards in the league, a fitting development given that Rondo and the Celtics now have agreed on a contract that will make him one of the cornerstones of the franchise for years to come.

Today, both sides are getting exactly what they wanted.

Jim Davis/Globe Staff

In Boston, Rasheed now dresses in white.

"I didn’t know if the fans wanted to keep it personal and still call me those names or what," Wallace mused in the wake of the Celtics’ 92-59 annihilation of the outmanned, overmatched and outclassed Charlotte Bobcats. "It was cool though."

Cool, indeed. Cool as Wallace entered the game to chants of Sheeeeeeeeeeeeed with 4:06 remaining in the first quarter, cool as Wallace drilled his first two shots, both 3–pointers, helping the Celtics build a 22-11 lead in the opening quarter. Cool even as Wallace dressed in front of his locker following the game, when he donned a black sweat jacket bearing the name and logo of the Philadelphia Phillies, as sure a sign as any that he has embraced Boston as firmly as Boston already has embraced him.

'Sheed, it seems, plays by the same rules many of you do. If he is not necessarily rooting for the Red Sox, he is at least rooting for whoever is playing the Yankees.

So here we have it again, yet another example of how you can go from bad guy to good guy with a simple wardrobe change. As a member of the Detroit Pistons, Wallace was perceived here as a contemptible hothead whose inability to control his temper sometimes hurt the cause. Now, as a member of the Celtics, Wallace is a highly-skilled skilled big man with what the Celtics like to call "a high basketball IQ," a man who brings passion and experience to a team that, when fully healthy, might have the deepest and most talented roster in the NBA.

The truth, as always, probably rests somewhere in between, though that hardly matters now. On both sides, never is the love affair involving a veteran player greater than that first season in which he changes uniforms. At this stage, Wallace is certainly happy to be out of Detroit following a reconstruction of the Pistons team that was once an annual force in the Eastern Conference. And we certainly know that the Celtics and their fans are thrilled to have him given what Wallace can provide for everyone from Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett to Kendrick Perkins and Glen (don’t call him Big Baby) Davis.

"I mean, he’s such an impact on the defense end, and I think that’s where his value is coming in the most," said Celtics captain Paul Pierce. "The way he defends, the way he rebounds and also the way he spread the floor with his presence - I mean, when he’s on the court with Kevin, especially, you see the lane is open. You have driving lanes because teams are helping off of him because of the way he’s shooting the ball. And he’s the total package, I mean, on both ends of the court.

"I mean, he fits the mold of our ball club with his energy, his passion and what he’s all about – you know, winning a championship," Pierce concluded. "His personality is perfect with what we have over here."

Why shouldn’t it be? So Wallace blows a gasket every now and then. Big deal. He is clearly going to help the Celtics more than he hurts them. In just shy of 16 minutes last night, Wallace scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds while converting 3 of 8 shots, all from 3-point distance. In the Celtics’ two games thus far, Wallace is shooting as well from long distance as Ray Allen. Both are 6 of 14.

If there is still anyone who thinks Wallace may have difficulty accepting a lesser role than he filled in Detroit, remember that he was on the floor with Pierce, Allen, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo during the final minutes on Tuesday’s season-opening victory. As anyone with a brain will tell you: it’s not who starts, but rather who finishes.

What we have here, minus the low-post game, is the closest thing the Celtics have had to Kevin McHale since McHale retired, albeit in a montage of snapshots from McHale’s career. Simply put, Wallace is a big sixth man who can play defense and shoot 3s, all roles McHale filled at assorted points of time, in varying capacities, during his time in Boston.

The technical fouls and the jousting with officials? Accept them now as costs of doing business. Even last night, after teammate Kendrick Perkins drew a technical, Wallace noted that Perkins was whistled for the manner in which he looked at an official. The new big man then openly wondered if the same official will make the same calls when glared at by certain unnamed "superstars," which certainly seemed like a defense of Perkins and a shot at the officiating, not to mention a playful jab at whiners ranging from the East (LeBron James?) to the West (Kobe Bryant?).

"I want to see if they’re going to call that all year," Wallace all but snorted.

But then, we knew the guy could snipe from long range.

Whatever your feelings for Wallace before he came to the Celtics, here’s a suggestion: forget them all. You can never truly get to know someone from a distance as well as you can get to know them from up close, and Wallace will be with the Celtics for the next three years. Upon first glance, Wallace seems far smarter than one might have guessed and a far better teammate than anyone would give him credit for, and history has taught us (Corey Dillon, Randy Moss) that players certainly can adapt to their environment.

Of course, it always starts with wearing the right uniform.

Sitting up there, from bookend to bookend, they looked like basketball’s answer to the Steel Curtain: Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Wallace. Between them, there wasn’t a hair out of place.

For what it’s worth, Rasheed Wallace knows what you are thinking. The Celtics have a good thing going here and they don’t need a loose nut to affect their stability. Asked today to identify the more intense personality, himself or Garnett, Wallace ultimately pointed a finger squarely in his own direction, if only because Garnett "can control his emotions." Wallace freely acknowledged that he has had some issues with such self-restraint, referring to his "history with regard to technical fouls" amid supportive chuckles and smiles.

So what do the Celtics intend to do about it now that they have formally announced Wallace as the latest addition during their new-age renaissance? Nothing. Not a darned thing. And truth be told, that is exactly what they should be doing.

"I haven’t changed [Garnett] yet, so I’m not going to try [with Wallace]," Celtics coach Doc Rivers mused when asked about the challenge of handling his new big man, who has been signed to a three-year contract for the mid-level exception. "I can’t change anybody. I love the passion. …I’m not that concerned about it. …I love it."

Any concerns that this could fail?

"No," said Celtics vice-president of basketball Danny Ainge without the slightest bit of hesitation. "I mean, there are other teams out there [also vying for a championship]. But we’re a better team. We are, for sure, better."

So `Sheed blows a gasket every now and then. Big deal. So does Kendrick Perkins. Nobody ever won a championship by patting the refs on the bottom and holding the door open for opponents to drive the lane. Wallace has been accused of taking some nights off every now and then, and that might happen here, too. The Celtics are just hoping that they get fewer of them, be it from the presence of Garnett, the invaluable change of scenery – it can be a motivator – or the simple maturity of a man who will turn 34 in September.

The bottom line is this: The Celtics know what they are getting into here and they are embracing it whole-heartedly. According to Ainge, the Celtics did some research on Wallace and learned that he is generally liked by teammates and coaches, which is the true litmus test for any player. It doesn’t matter if the refs like him … or if the fans like him … or if the media likes him. All that matters is if Wallace and his teammates can freely express their displeasure with one another and work through the issues that inevitably arise on every team in every sport. Winning usually takes care of most of that.

And this team, again, will win a lot.

"That’s kind of like old news to me," Ainge said when asked about Wallace’s history of volatility on the court. "He hasn’t really had major issues with that the last few years. If he had done that every year, then that’s an issue."

Beyond that, let there be no doubt about the Celtics’ leadership here just as there is no doubt about the leadership in Foxborough. When it comes to running a team, Ainge and Rivers know what it is important and what is not. They’re not interested in changing players’ personalities or styles. At one point during Garnett’s first season here, Rivers said he talked to the player about being more restrained on the court, talking less trash, controlling himself. The moment Rivers saw that Garnett wasn’t playing as freely, he pulled his centerpiece aside and told him to go back to being himself.

Want to bet that the Celtics told Wallace the same thing during their full-court press on him last week? We just want you to be you, `Sheed. Just come in and do your thing. You might start or you might come off the bench, but that doesn’t matter, anyway. You’ll be out there when it counts. If Wallace needed to hear anything else, he wouldn’t be here right now.

"I felt as though it was a good fit," he said quite simply.

Does any of this ensure that the Celtics will win another championship in 2009-10? Of course not. There is still a lot to be determined, The Celtics still would love to add Grant Hill and could use another guard, and Ainge said they want to retain Glen Davis. Garnett is coming off knee surgery. Rajon Rondo has to be slotted somewhere between his rookie deal and a maximum contract. The Cleveland Cavaliers have added Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic have imported Vince Carter. The reigning world champion Los Angeles Lakers just brought in Ron Artest.

To their credit, the Celtics have not stood still. After the way last season ended – with or without a healthy Garnett – the Celtics had to get better and they knew it. They promptly set their sights squarely on Wallace and then brought him to Boston, evoking images of a five-man unit, including Rondo, that might be able to match up with just about any in NBA history.

"They wanted someone of my caliber and vice-versa,’’ said Wallace. "It’s a whole new world, a whole new day. I just can’t wait to get it goin’."

Concurred Garnett, "I’m really excited about this year."

Sounds like the bookends are in concert on this.

And so, just as Nomar Garciaparra makes his return, Rasheed Wallace is preparing for his arrival. The story lines intersect. Boston’s past and present are traveling along their respective courses offering nothing more than a brief wave, like ships passing in the night.

Welcome back to Boston, Nomah. We hope you still recognize the place. The Red Sox are now two-time World Series champions and Logan Airport is a final destination more than an initial port of departure. Wallace is only the latest example. From Corey Dillon to Randy Moss to Kevin Garnett and John Smoltz, the greatest athletes in America now come here for redemption, for one final chance to win, for the right to climb aboard the duck boats and negotiate their way through the nooks and crannies of Sportstown, USA.

Imagine that.

"Once [Wallace] had a chance to reflect on everything, and realizing what his objectives are, he just decided this was the best fit for him, all the way around," agent Bill Strickland, who represents Wallace, told reporters yesterday about his client’s decision to join the Celtics. "He has always wanted to be on a team that plays with a team effort, and Boston won the championship with a team like that. Boston has three potential Hall of Famers -- Rasheed has played with a lot of talent, but not with a concentration of talent like this."

And then there was this: "The group that came in -- Danny [Ainge] and everyone -- was quite thorough in bringing to his attention some things he already understood. He gained a greater appreciation for the fans in Boston and it will be an interesting change, to have them cheering for him instead of booing. …He was more concerned with the team, but the organization showed a lot of class. They came in and made him feel comfortable."

Of course, that is how it now works here, a place of which outsiders once steered clear while sensing the trepidation and uneasiness. You can’t win in Boston. It’s just too darned hard. Men like Joey Galloway and Sam Cassell and Mark Kotsay now serve as reminders of how enjoyable it can be to play here … just as Garciaparra was (is?) a reminder of Boston’s suffocating, frustrating past.

Really, is there a player in all of sports who more crisply illustrates the change in Red Sox culture than the man who was to be their next Ted Williams? Garciaparra played 7 1/2 seasons here, and he played the majority of them brilliantly. He won a Rookie of the Year Award and two batting titles. He finished second in the 1998 American League Most Valuable Player Award balloting. And yet Garciaparra’s career in Boston will be remembered as much for the failed contract negotiations and his apparent dissatisfaction with the organization and media, obstacles he was never quite able to overcome for whatever reasons.

The fans? Garciaparra generally embraced them, and they returned the favor. They are likely to embrace him tonight when he returns to Fenway for the first time as a member of the opposing team. But by coincidence or circumstance, the Red Sox changed forever the day they traded Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs, an event that that has proven even more cataclysmic over time.

"I wanted us to discuss the issue that we all seemed to be avoiding," Sox president Larry Lucchino said in Dan Shaughnessy’s "Reversing the Curse" of a meeting with Garciaparra and agent Arn Tellem that took place just days before the Sox elected to trade the face of their franchise.

"We needed to talk about how unhappy Nomar was. Why was he still so [ticked]? Was there anything that could be done to change his mental state of mind, his approach to the organization, the city, and the game? We were contemplating the possibility of trading him, and we wanted to see if there was any way to take steps within our organization to make life better. Try to bring him back into the fold. The meeting lasted just about 45 minutes, and at the end of it, we basically concluded there was no way we were going to have a happy Nomar Garciaparra for the last couple of months of the season. There was no way to improve the situation. It wasn’t a constructive session. What he told us was that the media was bothering him. He said we didn’t appreciate it how difficult it was to play here. He told us, 'I play three games every night. There’s the media before the game, then there’s the game, which is fun, then there’s the media after the game.’ He told us that the reason teams in Boston fade is because of the stress and strain brought on by the media. I tried to bring the conversation back to Nomar’s contract or trade rumors, but he was more focused on the symptomatic problems of playing in Boston. He didn’t want to talk about himself and his own situation."

Roughly a week later, the Red Sox traded Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs in the four-team deal that brought Orlando Cabrera (from Montreal) and Doug Mientkiewicz (from Minnesota) to Boston. Three months later, the Sox were World Series champions for the first time in 86 years. Garciaparra ultimately re-signed with the Cubs on a one-year deal and earned roughly $35 million in salary from 2005-08. He could have had a four-year, $60 million contract had he chosen to remain with the Red Sox.

During that same period of time, Garciaparra had 16 postseason at-bats, all with the Dodgers. He has never played in the World Series. He has never really been the same player since he left Boston and the Red Sox have never really been the same organization, though the Boston baseball franchise clearly has changed for the better.

Amid all of this, the volatile Wallace has revealed his desire to come to Boston, an ironic development if ever there was one. Like Moss or Dillon, Wallace comes to Boston with certain questions about his emotional maturity. He also comes with positively no questions about his ability. On the floor, Wallace is the perfect fit for these Celtics, a talented big man who can take much of the burden off Garnett (don’t forget about those knees) and play at both ends of the floor. Roughly two years after Ainge convinced Garnett to come to Boston, Wallace now falls in line behind Cassell, P.J. Brown, and Stephon Marbury as de facto Garnett disciples. Not so long ago, the thought of any of those players coming to Boston would have been nothing more than a fantasy.

As for Garciaparra, he is now a part-time player for an A’s team going nowhere, and there is no way of knowing whether he will be in the starting lineup tonight. In a perfect world, he would bat in the top of the very first inning. Garciaparra would stride from the on-deck circle toward the plate as his name is announced to the Fenway Park crowd, and he would receive a thunderous, appreciative ovation from yet another sellout. And then, having briefly engaged his past, Garciaparra would step into the batter’s box to re-enter the present.

And then, fittingly, he would face John Smoltz.

There is flash and there is substance, and somewhere is between rests the elusive Rajon Rondo. Someday, he could he could be great. At the moment, he isn’t nearly as good as many make him out to be.

Trade Rondo? You bet I would, assuming the Celtics got fair value in return. Admittedly, fair is a highly subjective term. But if you were even remotely surprised by Danny Ainge’s recent admission that nobody is untouchable, you have not been paying attention to the world of professional sports, in general, or to the case of Rondo, in particular. And lest anyone think this is all some sort of commentary on Rondo’s off-court issues, as we have come to learn them.

Let’s keep the argument strictly on the parquet floor.

At the moment, Rondo doesn’t shoot well enough. There are still too many nights when he seems to vanish. While many were caught up in those triple-doubles during the postseason, Rondo was making some questionable decisions at the end of games and, on occasion, unnecessarily pulling rebounds away from bigger teammates. There were occasions, it seemed, when it was more about him than it was about them.

At the time, it seemed a little too contrived to say those things because the Celtics were grinding their way through the playoffs with commendable gusto in the absence of Kevin Garnett.

Obviously, we all love Rondo’s potential, but this isn’t about that. It’s about the now. Moments before Ray Allen hit his game-winning 3-pointer against the Chicago Bulls in Game 2 of the Celtics’ first-round playoff series, few seem to remember that Rondo took a very debatable jumper; only Allen’s ability to keep alive an offensive rebound preserved possession for the Celtics. Had that failed to happen, we all might have asked why Rondo was shooting in the first place given the other options on the floor.

In any game, after all, the job of the point guard is to make everyone else better. Distribute the ball. Put teammates in a position to succeed. At the end of the day, for every player, the numbers are nothing more than eye candy that follows the main course, in this case winning.

Let’s use Garnett as an example. For all of the praise Garnett has received for his abilities as a defensive player, his offensive skills are every bit as valuable to the Celtics and they are just as considerable, too. (Don’t confuse offense with scoring.) Garnett could probably average a triple-double if he wanted to -- he is that good of a passer, too -- but he long ago recognized that the best way to win is as a team, with a calculated division of labor that makes everyone more effective.

With a guy like Garnett, it has never been about triple-doubles, points, rebounds or assists. It has been about Ws, plain and simple, and that is meant as a compliment of the highest order. If Garnett ever has been frustrated, we’re willing to bet those times have come when others around him have failed to recognize that.

In the wake of Ainge’s public, honest and entirely accurate assessment of Rondo’s development as a player and person, Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy, was predictably tweaked. This is now the age we live in. Vehicles like ESPN have prematurely turned young people into superstars -- this is a reality that goes well beyond the sports world -- and nobody wants to work for anything anymore. Young people, in particular, want to be handed their diplomas, step off the platform and become CEOs by 25, and they actually believe they are capable of doing it. They are smarter and more competent than you, and they are all too willing to let you know it. Maybe that manifests itself in how they play or work. Maybe that manifests itself when they have inadequate regard for team rules or the people who came before them.

Without question, Ainge and Celtics coach Doc Rivers are extremely smart men who generally shoot straight and pull no punches. That is a big reason each is widely respected by most everyone. The trade rumors and criticisms of Rondo probably were not an accident -- the criticisms certainly were not -- because Ainge and Rivers know how this sort of thing usually plays out. And while there is certainly the possibility (or probability) that the Celtics already are posturing with regard to talks on a contract extension for Rondo, Ainge delivered a message in recent days that was spot on.

Rondo has a chance to be something very special. Garnett himself said as much during the Celtics’ drive to the championship in 2007-08. If Rondo is not eventually one of the very best guards in the league, Garnett suggested, then that will be the fault of no one but Rondo himself.

Couldn’t it be that Ainge’s recent remarks were about helping Rondo rather hurting him?

As fans and onlookers, we are all guilty of falling in love with some players more than others. The ones with certain panache are all the more appealing. Guys like Rondo and Jacoby Ellsbury have the athleticism to make spectacular plays, but those kind of demonstrations are the sports world’s answer to wrapping paper. Ultimately, it does not matter what the outside of the box looks like. What matters is what is inside the box, which speaks to a player’s ability to contribute to wins.

With Rondo, do we really know if he is a winning player at this point? Or is he just a young guy who was along for the ride in June 2008? No matter how you really slice it, the only indispensable players on the Celtics at the moment are Garnett and Paul Pierce, either of whose absence would deal a major blow to championship hopes in 2009-10. The Celtics can without Ray Allen and they can win without Rondo, and the existence of economic factors (with or without a salary) means that all teams eventually must make hard decisions on good players.

Rondo? He’s good. But let’s not go calling him great just yet.

At the moment, including postseason, the running total stands at 114,412. That is the combined total of minutes played by Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce during their illustrious NBA careers.

The obvious questions:

How much sand is left in that hourglass?

How many minutes do they have left?

Eliminated from the postseason by the faster, stronger, and healthier Orlando Magic in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series, the Celtics limped out of the TD Banknorth Garden on Sunday night following a 101-82 defeat that left them with more questions than answers. Garnett is headed for knee surgery. Allen is entering the final year of his contract. And since July 1, 2007, Pierce has played in more regular season and postseason games (201) than Julio Lugo (186) and nearly as many as J.D. Drew (239), which can only make you wonder about the erosive effect of NBA life on Boston’s vaunted Big Three.

At least on paper, Garnett, Allen, and Pierce have one year remaining together. The Celtics’ oft-discussed window is more closed than open, which means there are some very important decisions to be made over the next 12-14 months. Some of the problems that faced the Celtics this postseason will still be there when the team reports to training camp at the end of the summer.

"Obviously we didn’t play great,’’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said in the wake of his team’s performance at the Garden last night. "With the way we were playing, with our legs [tiring], every game was another nail for us."

And that is true in the long-term as much as the short.

With regard to the 2009-10 season, in particular, the Celtics should compete for a championship again. The obvious challenge for vice-president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is to rebuild the Boston bench, be it partly by retaining Glen Davis (restricted free agent) and Eddie House (who has a player option) or going in another direction entirely. Regardless, the Celtics must take more of the burden off Garnett, Allen and Pierce, to whom the 2008-09 campaign did varying degrees of damage and who need to be healthier and/or fresher at the end of next season than they were at the end of this one.

In the case of Garnett, who will turn 33 tomorrow, a knee injury limited him to fewer games (57) than in any season since 1998-99, which might be good news were it not the result of injury. Meanwhile, Allen (who will be 34 in July) has played more minutes over the last two seasons (regular season and postseason) than in any other consecutive seasons of his career. As for Pierce, he looked terribly worn down by the end of Game 7, an understandable development given the amount of basketball he has played since the start of the 2007-08 season.

The good news? As a result of injuries to Garnett and Leon Powe as well as the extended absence of a true backup point guard, Davis and Rajon Rondo each took the next step in his development. The problem is that Rondo’s contract (like Allen’s) is due to expire after next season and Davis’s growth ultimately may benefit someone else if the Celtics are unable to retain him, which could put the Celtics right back where they are at the moment:

Good enough to make a spirited run but flawed enough to be vulnerable, especially as LeBron James reaches the prime of his career.

All of this brings us back to next season, which already seems to be growing in importance. Between now and the start of camp, Ainge has to keep the Celtics’ championship hopes intact while simultaneously positioning them for the pivotal summer of 2010. How much the Celtics are willing to spend beyond the luxury tax threshold is a critical question. Ainge needs to rebuild the bench without hindering his ability to spend next year, but he also needs to maximize that period of time during which Garnett, Pierce and Allen are together.

Talk about a delicate balance, especially as the Big Three creeps into its mid-30s, a problem the Celtics and their fans remember all too well from late '80s and early '90s.

All of this makes the 2009-10 season an especially critical one in the long-term health of the franchise, which makes this offseason all the more important, too. With The Greatest Free Agent Class in Sports History looming one year from now, teams are likely to approach this summer with trepidation. For the Celtics, that could create opportunity. (Antonio McDyess, anyone?) Yet, if the Celtics take a more passive approach to the offseason, they could fail to give Garnett, Allen and Pierce the support they need at this stage of their respective careers.

Let’s not be naïve here. As well-conditioned as Garnett, Allen and Pierce are, the minutes have piled up. Each is now more susceptible to injury than ever before, which means Rivers might have to start treating all three in the same deliberate way that San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich handles Tim Duncan. The Celtics might have to sacrifice games during the regular season, which means they might have to win on the road in the playoffs.

Almost two years ago, when Ainge executed the extreme makeover that took the Celtics from 58 losses to 66 victories – actually 82, including postseason – we all knew the potential risk: as the Celtics approached 2010, their nucleus would be aging. While Ainge was shrewd enough to stagger contracts so that the Celtics might be position for a smoother transition -- Pierce is up in 2011, Garnett in 2012 -- the challenge of replacing the Big Three already is creeping into play and the Celtics are coming off a season in which they did not win a championship.

If we’re saying the same thing a year from now, we can only wonder if the Celtics will be in better shape – or worse.

Another year, another season, another seventh game. And as yet another representative of our fair home rests on the cusp of both glory and heartbreak, we are reminded that there is no sports city in America that more regularly tests its limits.

Where else does one of the best managers in baseball walk off the field, as Red Sox skipper Terry Francona did following his team's win on Tuesday night, and immediately inquire about the fortunes of his basketball counterpart?

"When I walked into the clubhouse," Francona said yesterday by phone when asked whether he paid attention to the outcome of the Celtics-Magic Game 5, which involved his friend, Doc Rivers, "that's the first question I asked: 'Who won the game?'"

The answer was, as it frequently has been during this millennium: Boston.

Winning, however, has not been everything, and it has not been the only thing either. Tonight's seventh game between the Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes will mark the 30th time this decade that a Boston team will play a decisive postseason game in which both sides quite literally have a season at stake. And while a large chunk of those contests have been Patriots playoff games (13) or Super Bowls (four), the Celtics (five), Red Sox (five), and Bruins (No. 3 tonight) also have reached a Game 7 (or, in some cases, a Game 5) for the right to advance ... or not.

In the last year, especially, we all have been reminded that there is dignity in defeat, too. Last spring, despite losing to the Montreal Canadiens in the seventh game of their first-round playoff series, the Bruins overcame a 3-1 series deficit and may have resurrected hockey in Boston; their victory in Game 6 continues to stand out as a potential franchise-altering moment. The Red Sox, despite injuries to Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and David Ortiz, pushed the Tampa Bay Rays to a seventh game in the American League Championship Series; their Game 5 comeback at Fenway Park last fall goes down as one of the great postseason rallies in baseball history. And the Patriots, even in the wake of a season-ending injury to reigning MVP Tom Brady in the first quarter of their very first game, resiliently strode to an 11-5 finish; their absence from the postseason was as much a statistical oddity as anything else.

And now the Celtics, forging on without Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe, are one win from a repeat trip to the Eastern Conference finals following Tuesday's blood-rushing Game 5 at the TD Banknorth Garden. Their latest comeback ensures that there will be at least one more basketball game played at the Garden this season, potentially another Game 7 on Sunday, depending on what happens in Game 6 tonight in Orlando.

Along the way, Boston has not merely fortified its image as Sportstown USA. What the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins have done is to give Boston teams a reputation as a required checkpoint on the way to any world title, the kind of opponent that necessitates an exceptional, exhaustive effort in order to be defeated.

The odds are against you if you are a visiting team here, but you still might be able to win. Regardless, you're not going to do it without going the distance.

"We're not afraid to play in this building in Game 7," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy assured following his team's Game 5 collapse on Tuesday.

But then, what choice did he have?

It's either that or the Magic lose in six.

The Bruins tonight are in unusual territory. Following a renaissance regular season, Boston entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins then wiped out the Montreal Canadiens and jumped to a 1-0 series lead against these Hurricanes, then lost three in a row. To their credit, coach Claude Julien's Bruins have regrouped to outscore the Hurricanes by an 8-2 margin in the last two games, forcing tonight's all-in affair on the ice beneath the Garden parquet. Because the Bruins are the favorites and because they have rallied to force a seventh game -- at home, no less -- the instinct is to say that a loss would be disappointing.

Yet, given the unpredictable nature of any one-game playoff -- this seems especially true in hockey -- the simple truth is that Game 7, in many ways, is not the real challenge. The hard part is getting there. The Bruins started training camp roughly eight months ago as a team that was, if nothing else, interesting, and have since blossomed into full-blown Stanley Cup contenders. Boston's fourth franchise has forced its way back onto the map and into our consciousness, and now the rest of the country knows that Boston is a hard-hitting hockey town again, too.

If the Bruins win? The Eastern Conference finals will begin here next week against the defending conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins in a series that could produce yet another Game 7.

Unless, of course, the Celtics deliver one first.

A championship remains unlikely and the reality remains unchanged, and yet the Celtics continue to plod along, almost defiantly, entirely undeterred. Most people look foolish when repeatedly running into a wall. The Celtics look like the model of determination.

One way or another, there will be another basketball game played at the TD Banknorth Garden this season, a fact cemented by the Celtics’ improbable 92-88 win over the unraveling Orlando Magic last night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. For 40 minutes of this game, the Celtics looked downright punch-drunk. They had no legs, no spunk, no spirit. And if that is how the last days of this season were to play out, with Kevin Garnett in a suit and the Celtics all but in a coma, the simple truth is that we would not have had a single complaint.

But this?

This is downright inspiring.

"Our team, they believe in each other. They’re very close," coach Doc Rivers said after the Celtics grabbed a 3-2 lead over the inaptly named Magic. "All the experience from last year has helped this year. We’re not the team we were last year. We’re a different basketball team. We’re not just going to show up and beat teams.

"We’ve got to grind any win we can get,’’ Rivers added. "We’re grinding here. I don’t know if people appreciate the minutes these guys are going, the legs."

We appreciate them, Doc. We appreciate them probably more than we say or more than you know. The Celtics now have played a stunning 202 regular season and postseason games since the start of last season, a number that does not include preseason games, practice time, travel days. They are 151-51, a precise 100 games over .500. Most incredible of all, the Celtics seemingly want to forge on, despite the fact they are on a collision course with the freight train known as the Cleveland Cavaliers.

For a moment, let’s divest ourselves emotionally and admit something that should be obvious to anyone with half a brain: if the Celtics and Cavaliers begin a seven-game series today, as currently constituted, the Celtics will get annihilated. Extending the series to six games would be a moral victory. At this stage, there are only two ways the Celtics beat the Cavs: if Garnett plays or if LeBron James does not.

All of that only makes this Celtics postseason compelling if for no other reason than, from the very beginning, they have had every right to quit. Based on the Game 1 performance against Chicago in the first round, the Celtics entertained thoughts of doing so. That was when Rivers waved off any more questions about Garnett and all but appealed to his team’s sense of pride, at which point the Celtics began a string of games that has been downright exhausting.

And so here they are now, one win from the Eastern Conference finals despite the absence of Garnett, Leon Powe and anything really to prove. The Celtics already are champions. They are tired, battered, and bruised. A longer offseason would benefit them far more than a shorter one, and yet the Celtics continue to march on solely because it is the right thing to do.

See? It’s not always about winning sometimes. It is about the journey as much as it is about the destination. It is about maximizing potential, exploiting all opportunity, about setting an example for how things should be done.

At the moment, every parent should be holding up these Celtics as a model.

"It just worked out the way it’s supposed to work out,’’ said Paul Pierce, the Celtics captain. "We’re a team that’s never going to give in. It’s been that way since the playoffs started last year and this year.’’

Last night, along with Kendrick Perkins, Pierce was the glue that kept the Celtics together. Without him, the C’s might have lost by 20. In 40 minutes, despite facing a succession of double teams and more, Pierce made one good decision after the next. He finished with 19 points (on 6 of 11 shooting), 9 rebounds, and 8 assists while going a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line. He made two steals and did not commit a turnover. On a night when Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, and Glen Davis played key roles in a dramatic finish, Pierce quietly kept the Celtics afloat by pulling them from the collar.

But then, what are these Celtics if not an extension of their coach and captain, who methodically labored through their first years together with little or no hope. Those Celtics had no real reason to play, either. They seemingly had no chance to win. But those Celtics always played it out to the often bitter end, night after night, a more revealing testament to their perseverance than we possibly could have understood at the time.

"We’re not the prettiest team, guys -- clearly,’’ said Rivers, who was screaming so loudly at his players during the middle of the third quarter last night that he literally could be heard in the uppermost reaches of the Garden. "But we’re grinders. We just grinded this game out. They could have quit a few times and they didn’t. We had to get on 'em a little bit. You have to do that sometimes, but they did it."

As a result, in the latter stages of a very long season, the Celtics invoked the first rule of competition.

No matter what, keep playing.

Keep playing until someone tells you that you cannot.

Kevin Garnett just sat there, impeccably dressed as always, once again removed from the biggest games of the year. Minus their best player, the Celtics did the logical thing: They took away Orlando's best player.

Last night, Dwight Howard might as well have been wearing a jacket and tie, too.

Facing the possibility of a terminal 2-0 series deficit and a trip to the unhappiest place on earth, the Celtics obliterated the Orlando Magic last night by a 112-94 score in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The series is now locked at a game apiece. And for all that took place in 48 encouraging minutes at the TD Banknorth Garden, the most impressive was that the Celtics neutralized the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year and rendered him utterly invisible, particularly on his end of the floor.

"You couldn't ask for much more," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of his team's overall offensive performance. "I thought we had about one bad 5-minute stretch and that was it."

And that stretch came at the start of the third quarter, long after the Celtics had taken complete control of a game that Boston literally led wire-to-wire. In the second half, the Magic never got closer than 13 points. And when all was said and done, the uniquely talented Howard -- Rivers repeatedly calls him "a freak" -- had failed to block a shot for the first time in a game this postseason, largely because the Celtics had him simultaneously running in so many different directions that Howard didn't know which way was up.

Statistically speaking, the Magic finished the season as the third-best defensive team in the league based on opposing field goal percentage, the sixth-best based on scoring. But once you minimize Howard's presence, the Magic deteriorate almost the same way the Celtics do without Garnett, a fitting phenomenon given that they are the last two NBA Defensive Players of the Year.

So what did the Celtics do last night? They drew Howard from the basket, setting a succession of perimeter picks that effectively hollowed out the Orlando defense. When Howard stepped out, the Celtics went to the basket, orchestrating the kind of attack that left Orlando head coach Stan Van Gundy with little choice but to call his team's pick-and-roll defense "horrendous."

As for Howard ...

"It starts with me on both ends," he admitted. "The first game I was more active on the defensive end. I was able to block shots, rebound, run the floor and be aggressive. [In Game 2], it just wasn't there. So it starts with me."

It ends with him, too. And sometimes, like last night, it ends in a ball of fire.

As for the events at the other end of the floor, the workmanlike efforts of Kendrick Perkins have become a cliché at this point. Perkins is long enough to contest Howard's shots and big enough to bang with him, making him the ideal candidate to match up with such an unusual combination of size and athleticism. Rivers has said on more than one occasion this season that Howard's skills have not yet caught up with his raw ability, which means that keeping him away from the basket is of utmost importance. At this stage of Howard's career, your chances against him are much better if you can keep him eight feet from the rim, something Perkins has been able to do with reasonable consistency given the uniquely blended assets of The Freak.

This season, while leading the NBA in blocks and rebounding, Howard also finished fourth in the NBA (first in the Eastern Conference) with a .572 field goal percentage. And yet, during the regular season, the Celtics were just one of five teams against whom Howard shot below 50 percent, undoubtedly a big reason that the Celtics and their followers seem to fear the Magic less than they did the Chicago Bulls.

Still, Howard currently is more of a defensive force than he is an offensive one, which makes the Celtics' efforts at that end all the more important in this series. Last night, much to the chagrin of Howard and is coach, the Celtics completely picked Orlando apart at the end of the floor that is statistically the Magic's strength, and the only real question is whether the Celtics can continue to repeat it.

"He wants to stay in the paint, but eventually he has to come out," Rivers said of Howard. "As long as he's away from the basket, that's what we want."

Last night, even Garnett wasn't much farther from the hoop.

Kevin Garnett isn't walking through that door, but then, we already knew that. It's the rest of the Celtics who surprised us by failing to show up for the first half today.

Beginning with their captain.

Ten months removed from the victory that secured their 17th NBA championship, the Celtics began their postseason title defense with a 105-103 loss to the Chicago Bulls that was, in a word, infuriating. In a first half that set the tone for the day and, perhaps, the series, the Celtics played the first 24 minutes like a team that had no interest in trying. Rookie Derrick Rose had more assists (seven) than all of the Celtics combined (six), and Doc Rivers sounded as agitated after the game as he has at any point during his Celtics tenure.

Pierce? He finished with 23 points in this game, but do not be fooled. In the first half, he was virtually invisible. Pierce took four shots in the first two quarters -- four -- and committed three turnovers. He had zero assists. By the time Pierce came out for the second half with an indisputable purpose, the Celtics already had a nine-point deficit and the Bulls had reason to believe.

Forget the free throw Pierce missed at the end of the fourth quarter that could have delivered a victory and instead led to overtime. Things like that are entirely forgivable. But when the Celtics come out as a group looking like they really don't give a darn, well, that is just difficult to accept given the longstanding concept of Celtic Pride.

And one man in the Celtics uniform should understand that better than anyone else.

"As the captain of the ball club, I can't allow that, for us to come out as flat as we came out," a noble Pierce admitted after the defeat. "We've got to understand, `Hey, this is the playoffs, you lose you go home,' so we have to have a better sense of urgency from the jump each and every game. And I promise you that we will."

In Pierce's defense, he was not the only culprit, just one of the most obvious. Ray Allen uncharacteristically misfired on his way to a 1 for 12 performance, though he still took nearly twice as many first-half shots (seven) as Pierce. Allen looked like he tried to get into the flow of the game. Beyond that, the Celtics interior and transition defense was downright abysmal at times, though we all knew the former would be an issue in the absence of Garnett.

For Pierce and Allen, especially, this postseason must provide an extraordinary letdown. Deep down, whether they will admit it or not, Pierce and Allen know the Celtics cannot win a title without Garnett; each man has played far too many meaningless games in his career to get excited about more meaningless ones now. Yet, the playoffs are the playoffs and professionalism is professionalism, and losing to a team like the Bulls in the first round would be an underachievement of the most insulting kind for a team that won 62 games during the regular season.

At this point, for the Celtics, this is about maximizing their season the way the Patriots did in the absence of Tom Brady, playoffs or no playoffs. These Celtics should at least get by one round and should probably get by two. After that, assuming the Celts get that far, they will likely begin encountering opponents indisputably better than them. Most every reasonable person can accept losing to a superior opponent. It's the losses to the inferior teams that frequently send men like Rivers through the roof.

"Guys, Kevin is not playing in these playoffs. I'm not answering Kevin Garnett questions," said a rightfully testy Rivers. "This is about the players in uniform. Kevin is gone and he ain't coming back. The guys in uniform have to play."

Today, of all players in uniform, the best was Rose, who was playing in his first career NBA postseason game. If that trend continues throughout this series, that is as much a reflection on Pierce and Allen, in that order, as it is on the marvelous point guard of the Bulls. If you believe, as many do, that the team with the best player should win any NBA playoff series, you believe the Celtics should win this series. And they should win it easy.

We all know about the depth of Pierce's talents and the breadth of his skills, something he systematically reminded us of last postseason. One of the biggest reasons the Celtics won the NBA Finals last year is because Pierce was the best player in the series, better than even the more celebrated Kobe Bryant. Pierce played both ends of the floor, with passion and poise, and he all but single-handedly took over Game 4 the way he took over Game 7 against the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James. The Celtics subsequently lined up behind their captain, the way that great teams do, and Pierce led them to where the Celtics wanted to go.

Now, one year later, the final destination for the Celtics is not likely to be as glorious. Pierce took 17 shots in the second half and overtime of Game 1, when the Celtics looked like a far more familiar team. Wherever the Celtics go this postseason, it will likely depends largely on the performance of captain.

Under the circumstances, after all, they need his leadership now more than ever before.

Way back when, after the Celtics seemed buried by a blizzard of ping-pong balls, we knew there was a tradeoff. We knew the opening might be brief. We knew that the Celtics got older even as they got better overnight, and we knew there were potential pitfalls.

Roughly 12 hours after the Celtics completed a 62-20 season with a victory over the Washington Wizards last night, no-nonsense coach Doc Rivers made his weekly appearance on WEEI this morning and delivered the news we all feared: Garnett won’t be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs on Saturday and he won’t be ready for Game 2, either. In fact, he very likely won’t play in the postseason at all. The Celtics have lost their most valuable player, the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and we all know what that means.

No duck boats for the Celtics this year. No rolling rally and no reunion with the Lakers. No opening night ceremony in the fall to celebrate the raise of Banner 18.

"No," typically forthright Celtics vice president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told the Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy last night when asked if the Celtics could win a title without Garnett this season. Added Ainge, qualifying the statement, "It would be a difficult task."

OK, fine. So the Celtics won’t win another championship this year. We all were due for some humility around here, anyway. From early 2002 through the middle of 2008, Boston took home six world titles as if ordering a box of donuts: three Super Bowls, two World Series, and one NBA championship. Since that time, Tom Brady and now Garnett have suffered what proved to be season-ending knee injuries -- or so it seems -- and the Red Sox have stumbled out of the game with a 3-6 start.

Whoever thought we’d be giving such thanks for the Bruins?

In the coming days, there is likely to be a great deal of rhetoric from the Celtics, who are nothing if not professional and determined. They have no choice but to play without Garnett, they will tell us. If Rivers is smart, he will use media and public doubt as a motivator for his team. The Celtics should still beat Chicago in the first round and they might even beat Orlando in the second, but anything after that would be akin to the miracle at Lake Placid.

The real question: What does this mean long-term? Will Garnett be the same after this? Will the Big Three? From the moment Ainge turned the Celtics from a Ford Pinto into a Cadillac Escalade, we knew the drawback: The new car had some miles on it. Ray Allen will be 34 this summer, Garnett will turn 33 next month, Paul Pierce will be 32 in October. The 2009-10 season could be their last time together given that it is the final year of Allen’s contract with the team.

Ainge being the shrewd man he is, the Celtics are as well-positioned for the long term as they could be, at least at the moment. Assuming the Celtics are under the salary cap following the 2009-10 season -- and right now, they are projected to be -- Ainge will have a maximum contract to offer in what looks like the greatest free-agent class of all time. He could have more money to play with when Pierce’s deal comes up the following year, even more money when Garnett comes up in 2012. The Celtics will have every opportunity to extend this luxurious ride of theirs, the one that has produced a stunning 144 combined regular season and postseason victories since the fall of 2007.

Nonetheless, in the wake of news like the Garnett injury, we cannot help but wonder: The good times have to end at some point, don’t they? Can they really go on forever? Boston went nearly 16 years without winning a world title, from 1986-2002, before the Patriots made their miraculous run in the wake of Sept. 11. Up through and including last summer, Boston really hasn’t stopped winning since. No year has seemed to pass without at least one rally at City Hall Plaza. If you lived here, you’d be celebrating a championship now.

Now Garnett is out and the Celtics have been dealt a major blow, and we all have been reminded just how difficult it is to win. You need good players. You need good management, coaching and leadership. You need luck and you need health, not necessarily in that order, and you need to remember that winning is a reward more than it is a birthright, no matter much you can sometimes take it for granted.

The 2008-09 Celtics? They start the playoffs on Saturday. The Bruins begin tonight. The Red Sox return to the work tomorrow and the NFL Draft is next weekend. The competition goes on and the pursuit of excellence continues, and the games have a way of reminding you that winning is, above all else, an extremely difficult task that requires constant, maximum effort capable of wearing you down, breaking you down, cutting you out at the knees.

Just ask the Patriots.

And now, ask the Celtics, too.

With regard to Stephon Marbury, the important thing to remember is that he has yet to play a game with Kevin Garnett. Even so, we are now seeing flashes of what Marbury can bring a Celtics team that suddenly needs all the help it can get.

Marbury had six assists in the Celtics' 112-108 overtime victory against the Miami Heat last night at the TD Banknorth Garden, five of them coming in the first quarter. All six of Marbury's assists came in the first 16 minutes of play. The man with a reputation for selfishness is distributing the ball as if passing out Halloween candy, and Marbury's inconsistencies partly may be the result of him simply trying a little too hard.

Imagine that.

"He's definitely looking pass first, there's no doubt about that," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I think he's just trying to make plays for everybody so bad instead of just making a play.

"You can see it slowly coming," Rivers added of Marbury's development. "I keep telling him the shot is going to be the last thing [to come back]."

In the interim . . .

• . . . the Celtics and Marbury anxiously await the return of Garnett, whose importance cannot possibly be overstated on either end of the floor. The Celtics often remind us that their offense begins with their defense, and their defense right now stinks. That is not hyperbole. In 13 games without Garnett, the Celtics have allowed 99.4 points per game, permitting the Heat to shoot a comfortable 47.8 percent from the field -- and 42.1 percent from 3-point distance -- without Dwyane Wade.

  "We miss [Garnett's] leadership out on the floor, his verbal leadership," Rivers said. "I think he's the one who holds everyone accountable defensively. We've won games [without him], but they've been offensive games -- all of 'em, basically."

  In Garnett's absence, the Celtics are now 7-6. In the seven victories, the Celtics have scored 128, 114, 104, 115, 105, 102, and 112 points, an average of 111.4 points per game. In the six losses, the Celtics have averaged a mere 93.6 with outputs of 91, 95, 79, 99, 77, and 121, the last coming in Tuesday's loss to the Chicago Bulls. Take away that game - clearly an aberration -- and the Celtics have averaged 88.2 points per game in Garnett-free losses.

  Is it possible that one man can have this much of an impact, particularly on defense?

  "That's why he was the Defensive Player of the Year," Rivers said. "And I think now he's showing why he was the Defensive Player of the Year."

  Which brings us to . . .

• . . . the Celtics' long-term plan, which has been debated here via both chats and e-mail. So here is the definitive truth:

  According to two NBA sources, the Celtics currently project to be under the salary cap following the 2010 season, when Ray Allen's contract is set to expire. That means they will have a max contract to offer in what is a very deep free agent class. The contracts of Paul Pierce ('11) and Garnett ('12) will come up in the years immediately thereafter, meaning the Celtics again will have max contracts to offer if they are still under the cap.

  Ultimately, what this means is that Danny Ainge did more than open just a short-term window when he acquired Garnett and Ray Allen during the summer prior to last season. He set up the Celtics to replace each member of his Big Three with impact free agents if and when the time comes. Of course, the Celtics also will have the choice of retaining those players if they so choose.

  Meanwhile . . .

• . . . Ainge will continue to draft people like Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who started and played 41 minutes in his first game since spraining an ankle against the Orlando Magic March 8. Davis had eight points and seven rebounds before fouling out, and -- get this -- the Celtics outscored the Heat by a whopping 27 points when he was on the floor.

  More than anything, the fact that Davis played 41 minutes speaks to the Celtics' injury situation, something Rivers joked about before last night's game.

  "We haven't seen him play [since the injury], so I'm going to start him," Rivers cracked.

  And after the game?

  "I think Baby's ankle is OK judging by the 41 minutes he played," Rivers mused.

  As for Rajon Rondo, he played 47 minutes after leaving Tuesday's game upon aggravating an ankle injury he suffered in the March 6 win over Cleveland. Rondo took a career-high 20 shots and scored 27 points, picking up much of the scoring slack in the absence of, among others . . .

• . . . Ray Allen, who sat on the bench wearing a suit. Which leads us to a question: Whose decision is it as to whether a player sits on the bench during a game? Why does someone like Allen sit on the bench while someone like Garnett does not?

  "I don't determine that. . . . That's something I could care less about," chuckled Rivers, who said that Allen's disposition made him a far more welcome presence on the bench than, say, Garnett.

  Added the coach: "If Sam Cassell can get a technical from the bench, I'm sure Kevin can get a technical from the bench."

  So Garnett stayed in the locker room and Allen sat on the bench . . .

• . . . which must have made Paul Pierce feel like this was March 2007 instead of March 2009. With neither of his trusty sidekicks, Pierce followed up Tuesday's 37-point performance against the Bulls with a 36-point performance against the Heat, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter and seven in the final 2:27 of regulation.

  "It almost came down to we had Paul and they didn't have Wade at the end," noted Rivers.

  In retrospect, maybe it really was that simple.

Injuries, injuries, injuries. They’ve been piling up around here like recycled newspapers. From Dustin Pedroia’s abdominal strain to Julio Lugo’s knee to Glen Davis’s ankle to Tony Allen’s thumb, Boston's athletes have a list of ailments that looks like Evil Knievel’s medical history.

Let’s review the anatomical diagram, from head to toe, beginning with . . .

• Scalabrine’s head and neck, heretofore known as Scal-e-osis, not to be confused with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine. Injured in a 114-76 win at Denver on Feb. 23, Scalabrine has not played since and is not expected back until April. Diagnosis can be difficult because, quite frankly, Scalabrine was a little loopy to begin with.
• John Smoltz’s shoulder. A member of the Atlanta Braves for two decades, the classy righthander is trying to come back from shoulder surgery. He is out until late May or early June, largely as a precautionary measure so that he can be ready to pitch at the end of the year. In a best-case scenario of Smoltz shoulder, all symptoms generally are expected to subside by late summer, leading to a healthy autumn (assuming the Red Sox get there).
• Brad Penny’s shoulder, otherwise known as Acute A-Penny-itis, which can result (but not always) from a general muscle weakness relating to insufficient conditioning. Penny seems a good bet to open the season on the disabled list given that he has yet to pitch in a spring game. Somewhere, Larry Bowa is snickering.
• David Ortiz’s shoulder, wrist and mind, a combination of physical and psychological concerns that fall under the classification of general David-ia. Hampered by a torn tendon sheath in his wrist last season, Ortiz also developed a sore shoulder early this spring from, of all things, throwing. Yet, in the absence of Manny Ramirez, the greater concern is his mental health, particularly as he pined for lineup help during his inaugural spring training address. He is nonetheless expected to be ready for the season.
• Stephane Yelle’s undisclosed ailment, otherwise known as the Yelle Fever, somewhat similar to the Hellenic Flu in that the cause or severity of the injury is unknown. Yelle has seven goals, 11 assists and a plus-9 rating this season for the Bruins. He has been out since March 4.

Laurence Maroney’s body. Though Maroney was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury last season, a succession of ailments throughout his career leaves his entire body in doubt. This condition, known as Walking Maron-ia, results in an extreme shortage of confidence on the part of personnel directors and/or coaches. Hence, Fred Taylor is now a Patriot. Long-term prognosis: unclear.

• Dustin Pedroia’s abdomen. The starting second baseman for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, Pedroia unexpectedly rejoined the Red Sox over the weekend with a slight abdominal strain categorized as a minor ventral problem or MVP. (Ventral: "near, or on the belly.’’) Often confused with an oblique strain that sideline athletes for weeks, the MVP shouldn’t keep Pedroia out for more than a few days. You can exhale now.
• Tony Allen’s thumb. Otherwise known as Green thumb, the problem generally consists of ligament damage requiring surgery. In Allen’s case, his availability for the postseason is in question, leading to varying degrees of concern about his potential loss. Despite popular belief, Green thumb cannot be blamed for erratic jump-shooting tendencies beyond, say, 12 feet.
• Mike Lowell’s hip. After undergoing surgery last fall to repair a torn labrum, Lowell has returned to the field recently, though he still seems to moving somewhat gingerly. Given the central location of the hip, the player has been diagnosed with Inflammation of the Lowell connector, which frequently can result in stagnancy or "traffic’’ through the middle of the body. Long-term prognosis: Unknown.



• J.D. Drew’s back, a potentially chronic condition that can leave doctors and team officials mystified. Sometimes referred to as J.D.D. given Drew’s dorsal issues, the problem can crop up an anytime -- and usually does. Problems can persist for hours or months depending on the severity of the issue and time of season.
• Mark Kotsay’s back, a problem, in this case, expected to keep Kotsay off the active roster until approximately May 1. An issue that can arise without any warning and require an abrupt change in plan -- hence the popular term Skid Marks Disease -- Kotsay’s ailment inspired the Red Sox to sign Brad Wilkerson, who is expected to open the season as Kotsay’s replacement on the 25-man roster.
• Julio Lugo’s knee, believed to be a tear of the cartilage or "meniscus,’’ is generally as a relatively minor ailment that should sideline the player for roughly a month. Though Lugo could be out until the middle or end of April pending the results of an arthroscopic procedure tomorrow, Red Sox officials seemed relieved that there was no ligament -- or, in this case, Lugo-ment -- damage.
• Tom Brady’s knee. In this region, no other injury has received coverage so intense, and for good reason. Brady tore both the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) in last year’s season opener, though all indications are that he will be ready for 2009. The good news? He has a new stable of receives that includes Joey Galloway and Greg Lewis. Besides, it’s not as if he ever ran like a Gisele.
• Kevin Garnett’s knee. Though technically a knee injury, this ailment -- commonly known as Ticket-itis -- can dramatically damage the backbone of any team. Just ask the Celtics, now just 6-6 since Feb. 19, the night Garnett was injured against Utah. The struggling Celtics expect him back later this week, perhaps against San Antonio, but his absence may have cost the Celtics home court advantage in the postseason. (Translation: Can lead to road rash.)
• Marco Sturm’s knee. In the case of the Bruins, Sturm’s injury was a season-ender that stripped the B’s of one their better sets of legs. Playfully named Marco’s polio by one longtime doctor, Sturm’s ailment only re-opened emotional scars resulting from the trade that brought him to Boston, a connection of the physical and psychological that some experts refer to as Thornton’s Law.
• Rajon Rondo’s ankle. Though Rondo returned to the lineup Friday, he played poorly (five turnovers) against Milwaukee yesterday. Celtics officials clearly felt that Rondo had recovered sufficiently from a sprained ankle to return to the court over the weekend, but the effects of his injury -- sometimes referred to as Rondoids -- still seem present. Prognosis: Good.
• Glen Davis’s ankle. The big forward, who has helped fill in for Garnett, sprained his ankle in a loss against Orlando March 8. There has been some speculation that such ankle injuries can prompt a spontaneous outbreak of tears, though most believe that Davis’s emotional outbreak resulted more from ostracism. Said one fictional specialist: "Nobody puts Baby in a corner.’’
• Eddie House’s ankle and heel. Injured in yesterday’s loss to Milwaukee, House is optimistic he will return to the court quickly. Nonetheless, the Celtics seem to be suffering an alarming number of limb and extremity injuries after playing into the middle of June last year, leading some to foolishly speculate that the team is suffering from the well-known hand-and-foot-in-mouth disease that has plagued, among others, wide receiver Terrell Owens.

The Celtics probably won't have the home court advantage this postseason, and the truth is that they know it. The flip side is that they now trust they can win without it, further indication of just how far they have come since this time last year.

"Obviously we want to have home court, but we believe we can win on the road," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said even before the C's took the floor (sort of) in an eventual 86-79 loss to the Orlando Magic Sunday at the TD Banknorth Garden. "We're not going to start the playoffs with guys who are not healthy. We're going to do what we need to do to have all guys healthy at the start of the playoffs."

So there's your answer:

Health is the priority.

Without it, home court won't mean much, anyway.

A telling example of the notion that the Celtics are putting health above everything else came yesterday, when Rivers said that he would try to limit the minutes of Paul Pierce and Ray Allen against Miami Wednesday even with the team already missing five players. Pierce and Allen both played more than 45 minutes in Sunday's loss to the Magic.

"I still want to keep their minutes down, even in a time of crisis," Rivers said.

A year ago at this time, many of us felt differently, in part because the Celtics generally were healthy, in part because we did not trust them for the simple reason that they did not trust themselves. At the start of last season, Rivers acknowledged that one of the team's preseason goals was to go unbeaten at home. One of the others was to have home court advantage throughout the playoffs, mostly because the Celtics believed they would need it.

Know what that means? It means they were a little unsure of themselves. It means they wanted every advantage possible because, together, they had never gone through a postseason before. Even during the playoffs -- as we saw during the series against Atlanta, in particular -- Rivers acknowledged that the Celtics were learning playoff basketball on the fly, a fact highlighted during the breakdowns in composure that took place in Atlanta and, perhaps, Cleveland. In those two series, the Celtics were 0-6 on the road.

But after Game 3 of the Detroit series, everything changed. The Celtics took two of the three games they played at The Palace during the Eastern Conference Finals and another in Los Angeles during the Finals. Combined, against Pistons and Lakers teams that went 64-18 at home during the 2007-08 regular season, the Celtics went 3-3 on the road. More than any others, those wins are what delivered a 17th championship banner to the rafters.

At the moment, the Celtics are a mess. Sunday proved it and the loss of Glen "Big Baby" Davis only emphasized it. The Celtics currently are without Kevin Garnett (strained right knee), Rajon Rondo (right ankle sprain), Tony Allen (thumb surgery), Brian Scalabrine (concussions), and Davis (right ankle sprain), a group that might very well defeat the starting five the C's put on the floor against the Heat on Wednesday night. On Sunday against the Magic, the Celtics operated without their "quarterbacks" on both ends of the floor -- Garnett on defense, Rondo on offense -- and that undoubtedly explains why they looked to be conducting a 24-minute fire drill during the first two quarters.

The score at halftime: Orlando 51, Boston 33 -- and on the Celtics' home floor.

The Celtics spent the remaining 24 minutes scrambling to catch up, something they nearly achieved thanks to sharpshooter Ray Allen. Nonetheless, the end result was that the C's effectively neutralized Friday night's pulsating win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, at least with regard to home court advantage. If and when the Cavs return here in May, they still will do so with the knowledge that they have not won a game in Boston (regular season or postseason) in eight tries during the Garnett era. They will also return knowing (should they retain the No. 1 seed in the East) they will have to play in Boston only three times, not four.

Remember: The Celtics play at Cleveland on the final weekend of the regular season, and we must assume at this stage that the nod will go to Cleveland.

Nonetheless, this past weekend gave us further indication that the Celtics will be quite capable in defending their title this spring. If nothing else, Friday night's victory proved that the Celtics can play their best when they want to and need to. The Celtics are now operating with such a high level of self-assurance that they can almost turn it on and off, something Rivers himself seems to recognize.

At least when he has a healthy roster.

In the NBA, championships are won in June, not in March. And yet, as the Celtics move toward a formal defense of their 17th world title, one cannot help but wonder if they have reached a crossroads.

Cleveland tonight.

Orlando on Sunday.

Which way will they go?

The Eastern Conference standings being what they are, we all understand the magnitude of tonight’s game against the Cavs. Home court advantage is probably at stake. The Celtics already trail Cleveland by two games in the loss column with 20 games to play, and a defeat tonight seemingly would give the Cavs a huge advantage in any tiebreaker implemented at the end of the season. Though the teams have a game remaining April 12 in Cleveland -- that’s Game 80 of the scheduled 82 -- Cleveland is a sterling 27-1 at home this year and beat the Celts, 98-83, in Boston’s only visit this season to Quicken Loans Arena.

With or without Kevin Garnett, the Celtics need to hold serve here.

Especially when one considers their recent road history against the Cavs.

For starters, the Celtics have not won at Cleveland in six tries during the Garnett era. In the last four trips there -- three of them in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinal series -- the Celtics have lost by scores of 108-84, 88-77, 74-69, as well as the aforementioned 98-83. Add up the numbers and what you get is the scoring average of a dreadful 78.3 points per game in those affairs, the kind of Q rating that qualifies as an F on most any scale.

Get the picture?

While Cleveland has been unable to win at the TD Banknorth Garden over the same stretch of time -- the Cavs are 0-7 in Boston in regular- and postseason since the beginning of last season -- the pressure is actually on the home team tonight. Should Celtics lose to the Cavs tonight -- and presuming Cleveland also wins at home April 12 -- Boston will need to make up four games in the remaining 18 to earn home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.

If you think that is going to happen, you have as warped a sense of self as Lucky, the deposed leprechaun.

In the short term, the problem is that the Celtics will play this game without Garnett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year who once again was starting to look like the most valuable defensive force in the league. Particularly against a Cleveland team that has held opponents to a league-low 90.3 points per game, Garnett will be missed. In the nine games Garnett has missed this season, the Celtics have allowed precisely 99.2 points per game; in the 53 games Garnett has played, the Celtics have allowed an average of 91.5.

And so, if you’re looking for a way to measure what Garnett brings to the table defensively on a nightly basis, it translates into about 7.7 points per contest. And oh, by the way, the Celtics’ average margin of victory this year is 9.1. Think about all of this the next time someone suggests that Garnett does not "take over" games in crunch time.

As for Sunday’s home game against Orlando, we all would be advised to remember the Magic. At the moment, in the loss column, the Celtics (14 defeats) are as close to Orlando (16) as they are to Cleveland (12). Should the Celtics suffer defeats to both the Cavaliers and Magic this weekend, there is the chance the Celtics will finish third in the Eastern Conference. That means Boston could lose home court advantage as early as the second round, a daunting prospect no matter how much the Celtics improved on the road throughout the course of last postseason.

Admittedly, a great deal has changed since last week, let alone last spring. The Celtics added Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore, and the Cavs just picked up Joe Smith. Orlando hoped to mitigate the loss of point guard Jameer Nelson by picking up Rafer Alston from the enigmatic Houston Rockets. On some level, each of the three elite teams in the Eastern Conference have been undergoing some sort of molecular restructuring, all with the singular purpose of defeating the other two in May.

Last year, for what it’s worth, the Celtics picked up their play considerably down the stretch, winning 16 of their final 20 games and 11 of their final 12 after going 50-12 in their first 62. At the moment, this club is two games off that pace at 48-14. As it turns out, those two games are currently the difference with regard to potential home court advantage against a hungry and improved Cavaliers team whom the Celtics are almost certain to face in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Two games.

And so as the Celtics prepare for meetings with the Cavs and Magic this weekend, maybe it is worth remembering that a mere two games can make all the difference in the world.

Welcome to Boston, Stephon Marbury. You’re arriving just in time. The Celtics soon will be gearing up for another run at a world championship, and the simple truth is that they probably cannot win the title without you.

As for those skeptics who fear that Marbury may disrupt the chemistry the Celtics have built over the last 18 months or so, we ask:

Do you want to win another title or not?

After months of speculation (and more) that Marbury would end up with the Celtics, the talented and controversial point guard drove to Boston last night and is expected to sign with the team before tonight’s game with the Indiana Pacers. And over the next 2-4 months, depending on how far the Celtics go, we will learn just how much the Celtics needed him.

"You don't know how good it feels to know that it's just one thing, to have fun,’’ Marbury told the Globe’s Marc Spears by phone last night. "[Kevin Garnett] was like, 'Basketball is going to be fun again, kid.' Man, I can't wait. I'm so excited. I haven't slept in like three days."

Before we go on, let’s ask one question:

If KG is pumping him up, shouldn’t that be good enough?

Let’s be honest here, folks. Two months ago, when the Celtics were rumbling to a 27-2 start, they remained the class of the NBA. Since that time, they’ve gone 19-11, lost twice to the Los Angeles Lakers (including once in Boston) and been positively throttled by the much-improved Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. The Celtics suddenly seem to have an alarmingly short bench, with or without mighty Mikki Moore.

So Marbury comes with the reputation of being, you know, disruptive. So what. Over the years, the same was said of Dennis Johnson, Corey Dillon and Randy Moss, among others. Johnson and Dillon helped bring championships to Boston, and Moss shredded the NFL record book during his one full season with Tom Brady and helped the Patriots to an 18-0 record before the unfortunate, gut-wrenching events in the final minutes of Super Bowl XLII.

Even then, Moss caught the touchdown pass that gave the Patriots the lead and brought them oh so close to the only 19-0 season in NFL history.

Already, Marbury is saying the right things. In the Q&A with Spears, he said he will play as many (or as few) minutes as the Celtics want. His objective is to win. Marbury’s reputation for being selfish may be well-earned, but he has never had an opportunity quite like this one, either. If Marbury doesn’t live up to his word now, his credibility in the league forever will be destroyed and his reputation will be permanently damaged.

This? This is an opportunity for Marbury to rehabilitate his image. It’s a chance for him to validate much of his career. And because the Celtics will be paying Marbury only a prorated share of the veteran minimum of $1.3 million -- between $350,000 and $400,000, though that number essentially doubles because of the luxury tax implications -- the Celtics can cut bait with Marbury at any time without taking a major financial hit.

Understand?

Marbury has more invested in this than the Celtics do.

He needs them as much (or more) than they need him.

If anyone out there is continuing to operate under the delusion that this Celtics team is as capable as last year’s with regard to winning the world title, take a closer look. The Celtics team that won the championship last June had James Posey, Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown on the bench. They ran nine or 10 deep. Cassell, Brown, Posey and Eddie House all made notable contributions last postseason, and the last member of that group now should be freed up to do what he does best -- shoot -- with Marbury assuming control of the ball.

Last season, lest anyone forget, Cassell came with questions. Many wondered whether Cassell would be capable of accepting a lesser role behind Rajon Rondo. Few remember that Cassell scored an important 13 points in Game 5 of the Atlanta series and another 13 in Game 1 of the Cleveland series.

All the while, with the no-nonsense Garnett setting the tone in the locker room and on the court, Cassell so seamlessly fit into the Celtics fabric that the club brought him back for another season based purely on his presence. What Cassell didn’t have anymore was the game to help this team at this time.

Unlike Cassell, what Marbury lacks at this point is the championship pedigree. At the same time, he has the game to help this Celtics club. At the moment, minus Posey, the Celtics don’t have the best defense in the NBA anymore. At the moment, they don’t have home court advantage for the playoffs, either. Last season, each of those assets played a significant role in delivering a 17th NBA championship to Boston, and there are currently teams with more championship incentive than the Celtics holding leverage in key areas.

The Cavaliers have the best defense and the best home record. The Lakers have the best record on the road. In all likelihood, the Celtics will have to beat at least one of those clubs -- and, more likely, both -- on the way to an 18th world title, and the chances of that happening without Marbury seem to be dwindling by the day.

In sports, there are no absolutes. The best team doesn’t always win. Given their careers and the events of last year, nobody understands the necessities of winning more than Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers. More than anyone, as a former teammate of Marbury, Garnett knows what Marbury could bring and what he could subtract. Rest assured that the Celtics long ago decided to make this investment, largely because they know the two most important rules when it comes to defending a championship.

As difficult as it can be to reach the top, it is more difficult to stay there.

And if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.

What we can say now, somewhat definitively, is that the Celtics have slipped a little. They need help. Without it, they may have difficulty retaining what they believe to be rightfully theirs.

"Hell yeah,’’ Kevin Garnett said without hesitation last night when asked whether his team would like to see the Lakers again in the wake of Los Angeles’s 110-109 overtime win over the Celtics last night at the TD Banknorth Garden.

And there was this, rather disgustedly, as if people needed a refresher on exactly who was chasing whom.

"We the champs, man,’’ a leery Garnett all but snarled.

Indeed, that is as true today as it was yesterday, despite the events at the Garden, where once again we were reminded that the space between a champion and a finalist is as thin as Louie Orr. Sometimes, the difference isn’t simply who wants it more; the difference is who has reason to want it more. The Celtics are the champs, man -- hell, yeah -- and no single game is going to change that at the moment, particularly one in February.

But the truth? The Celtics have work to do, assuming they want to hang an 18th banner alongside No. 17 in one of the most overstuffed attics in North America. On paper, after 51 games, the Celtics are precisely where they were a year ago, possessors of a 41-10 record. The 2007-08 Celtics went 25-6 the rest of the way before laboring through the early rounds of the playoffs, then hit their stride in dismantling both the Detroit Pistons and Lakers en route to their renaissance championship.

Lest anyone forget, the Lakers’ previous visit here was nothing short of an embarrassment. In losing Game 6 of the Finals by an unthinkable 131-92 score, the Lakers pulled the kind of no-show that made the Arizona Cardinals’ trip to Foxborough look like a crusade. If it wasn’t bad enough that the Lakers absorbed a merciless beating in the decisive game of the NBA season, there was This: they indisputably, unashamedly caved in, too.

So here we are now, less than seven months later, and the Lakers have beaten the Celtics not once, but twice, most recently on the sacred parquet. In the process, the Lakers have ended Boston winning streaks of 19 and 12 games, respectively. The last loss to Los Angeles triggered a stretch during which the Celtics went 2-7, and it is worth noting now that the Celtics are due to embark on a six-game trip through the south (New Orleans, Dallas) and west (Utah, Phoenix, Denver, the LA Clippers) following tonight’s game at New York and Sunday’s home game against San Antonio.

By the time the Celtics return home after that trip, February will be near its end and the NBA trading deadline will have passed, and any roster manipulation all but completed as contenders set their sights on the spring.

That said, over the next three weeks or so, the Celtics’ needs appear obvious: a backup point guard and a big man, not necessarily in that order. Stephon Marbury alone may not be enough. That became even more evident last night as Pau Gasol finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds while a recuperating Garnett (six fouls) sat on the bench, leaving the Celtics particularly vulnerable in the paint during the overtime period.

In last year’s Finals, Gasol averaged 14.7 points and 10.2 rebounds while shooting 53 percent from the floor. Against the Celtics this year, albeit in just two games, he has averaged 22 points and 9.5 rebounds while shooting 17 of 28 (a worrisome 61 percent).

"We needed Kevin’s length,’’ said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who also referred to Gasol as the "star of the game’’ during his customary postgame briefing. "That was a great example of how important length is and we just didn’t have it down the stretch.’’

If there was a message hidden somewhere in there, so be it. By now, we all know that Rivers is an astute man. Independent of how you regard P.J. Brown, James Posey or Sam Cassell, the reality is that the Celtics effectively have erased all three from the roster that won last year’s NBA title. Factor in the disappearance of Leon Powe -- or, as Phil Jackson might call him, Pow -- and the Celtics’ roster suddenly seems a good deal shorter than it did a year ago, no matter how much Rajon Rondo (16 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists) continues to improve.

Does that mean these Celtics are incapable of winning another title, as constituted, in what has suddenly become a very top-heavy league? No. But it does mean they are far more capable of being beaten by teams that have improved (the Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, specifically) while the Celtics have simple stood in place or, more likely, slipped back to the pack some.

Obviously, a great deal is going to change in the next three weeks. A year ago at roughly this time, the Lakers added Gasol and the Cavs revamped their roster, bringing in a group that included Ben Wallace and Joe Smith. The Dallas Mavericks picked up Jason Kidd and the Phoenix Suns brought in Shaquille O’Neal. The Celtics added Brown and Cassell, signing the former out of retirement and the latter after he bought his way out of his contract.

Back then, when asked about the flurry of activity taking place around the league, Rivers said the Celtics took some measure of pride in believing that they triggered all of the activity with their offseason acquisitions of Garnett and Ray Allen. The obvious insinuation was that the rest of the NBA was trying to keep up. Now the Celtics have considerable company atop the NBA standings as March 1 is rapidly approaching, and it certainly seems as if the league has fully erased the gap.

For the Celtics, the challenge now is obvious.

If they believe that league superiority rightfully belongs to them, nobody is simply going to give it to them.

They have to take it.

Hell, yeah.

Tonight, with the Bruins and Celtics both on the road, the TD Banknorth Garden will be quiet. But as recently as two years ago, even when the local teams were home, they played in relative silence.

Not anymore.

"There's been a huge change, obviously,'' said Bruins center Marc Savard, whose first season in Boston was the dreadful 2006-07 campaign. "I know Boston likes a winner and they've been spoiled in that regard. Since that first year, it's been night and day with people coming out and being a lot louder.''

Spoiled? You bet we've been spoiled, with Boston teams producing an astonishing six titles in three major sports beginning in early 2002: Three Super Bowls, two World Series and one NBA title. In that span, the Patriots have played in five AFC Championship games and the Red Sox have played in four American League Championship Series, meaning this city was thisclose to 10 league championship games or series during the administration of George W. Bush.

In these parts, Barack Obama clearly has a great deal to live up to.

But the Garden? Until recently, it might as well have come equipped with a drive-thru window. Two years ago at this time, the B's and C's were both earning D's (at best), the Celtics mired in a franchise-record 18-game losing streak and the Bruins taking the ice without any apparent plan or discipline, routinely skating around in circles under the passive watch of vagabond coach Dave Lewis.

Visiting clubs could simply pull up to the Garden and order up their wins, then drive away without ever really setting foot on the ground.

But not now.

Through Monday's doubleheader split at the Garden, the Bruins (17-3-2) and Celtics (21-2) are a combined 38-5-2 at home this winter season. Of the combined 45 home games they have played, they have just five outright losses. Already, the Bruins and Celtics have eclipsed their entire 2006-07 win total by 26 percent -- that's 38 wins combined now to just 30 two seasons ago -- and their current schedules are barely half complete.

In many ways, the momentum is self-sustaining. The teams win, inspiring better attendance and a more invested audience, which only makes the TD Banknorth Garden a far more difficult place to play.

Note: Drive-thru service is no longer available at this location.

"I think that makes for a huge advantage for us,'' said Savard of the increase in attendance this year. "It gives you more life and you feel a lot more pumped up. If it's flat in here, you've got to make your own energy.''

In 2008-09, at least, the Bruins are the obvious variable. They are now enjoying the kind of awakening the champion Celtics celebrated last season. The irony is that the Bruins, in some ways, have done this in an entirely different fashion than the Celtics, benefiting from the simultaneous development of several young players, from Milan Lucic, Phil Kessel, and David Krejci to Matt Hunwick, Blake Wheeler, and Mark Stuart.

The exceptions are Savard and defenseman Zdeno Chara, who came to the Bruins as major free-agent acquisitions in the aftermath of the historic NHL work stoppage that cost the league the entire 2004-05 season, making all other lockouts and strikes look like a coffee break. But where Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen immediately made the Celtics a winner -- or, rather, a champion again -- Chara and Savard have had to endure a more deliberate growth process.

Different game, different rules.

"Obviously, I first envisioned [the success] right away. It was frustrating [for a time],'' Savard admitted. "For it happen right now, this is what I envisioned. When I talked to Peter [Chiarelli, the Bruins general manager, before signing], he told me this is what they wanted to do.''

In the interim, Danny Ainge turned the Celtics from a team with the second-worst record in the league to one that secured a 17th champion, a startling metamorphosis that effectively took place overnight. Two years ago, the Celtics went 12-29 at home, a particularly dreadful mark in a league where the playing floor is all but tilted. Nonetheless, before last season, the Celtics actually set an undefeated home schedule as one of their preseason goals, ultimately settling for home marks of 35-6 (regular season) and 48-7 (including postseason, during which they went 13-1).

Now the Bruins have reached a comparable level of home success, despite Monday's frustrating overtime shootout loss. The Bruins have the dubious distinction of the city's most championship-starved franchise -- after all, it has been since 1972 -- and one of the great remaining questions about them concerns their performance in the spring, when the games truly mean something and the intensity and importance of every shift grows.

The good news? For the Bruins, like the Celtics, the majority of games likely will be played here, in Boston, an advantage each teams has earned by staking its claim as one of the elite clubs in its league. Years ago -- for you young'uns, we called that era "the '80s" -- playoff hockey and basketball were New England rites of spring, taking precedent over the NFL draft and the start of a new baseball season.

And so this year, it seems, we will renew an old tradition in the building on Causeway Street.

Besides, winter doesn't really end here until at least May, anyway.

In the world of coaching, patience is not merely a virtue. Sometimes, it is a requirement.

Particularly when things might get a little worse before they get better.

"I think sometimes you’ve got to wait on your team and sometimes you’ve got to push your team,’’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said in a secluded corner of the locker room Wednesday night, shortly after an 89-85 loss to the Houston Rockets, his team's sixth defeat in the last eight games. "I think right now, this is one of those stretches you’ve got to push 'em in practice and you got to wait on ‘em in the game. You’ve got to wait on 'em to do all the right stuff that they know they can do."

And so, as the wait extends, the weight builds.

Once the possessors of a sterling 27-2 record -- the best 29-game start in NBA history -- the Celtics are now 29-8 entering tonight’s reunion with the Cavaliers in Cleveland. The Cavs have the best record in the NBA. The Cavs have not lost at home this season. While going a perfect 18-0 at Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland has defeated its opponents by the average score of 105-89, staking its claim as Boston’s primary threat in an Eastern Conference that generally has looked like a two-horse race.

At the moment, this meeting has the makings of a potential Cleveland landslide.

But then, there’s a reason the games are played.

A picture of patience throughout his time in Boston, Rivers is now as he was then: unshaken. Two years ago at this time, the Celtics had just begun a club record 18-game losing streak that ultimately produced 22 losses in 23 games, a stretch that forever altered team history. As a result of the nosedive, the Celtics thrust themselves into contention for the No. 1 overall selection and ended up with the second-worst record in the league. In one manner or another, the fallout led to the ground-shaking events that brought Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and, as it turned out, championship No. 17 to Boston.

Maybe that is why Rivers looks at the Celtics’ recent dive and shows not a hint of concern.

After all, he has been through much, much worse and come out quite well off.

"I wasn’t that [patient] as a player and I probably wasn’t that way as a coach early on in Orlando,’’ Rivers admitted. "At the end of the day, you just kind of evolve into that, and I think that’s the best way to be."

Truth be told, the problems with the Celtics of late might be easier than one might guess. For the good of his team, Rivers just isn’t the kind to say it. Entering the Christmas Day defeat to the Lakers in Los Angeles -- the one that started this slump -- point guard Rajon Rondo had been playing like an All-Star. But during the six recent losses, Rondo has shot 21 of 54 (38.9 percent) with a disturbing ratio of 42 assists to 25 turnovers. Against Houston Wednesday, Rondo took just four shots and had four of his five assists during an aberrational Celtics burst late in the fourth quarter.

The rest of the night, Rondo had one assist; in the final three quarters, the Celtics scored 54 points. For all of the emphasis the Celtics internally have placed on defense -- they believe that defense triggers their offense -- they have averaged 89.5 points in their most recent six losses and only once scored as many as 90 points. That instance came in Tuesday’s 114-106 loss at Charlotte, a game that went into overtime.

And then there is this: In those same six losses, the Celtics have been outscored by 54 points in the second half. Their inability to execute in the fourth quarter, in particular, has evoked memories of the pre-K(G) Celtics, a young and spirited group that lacked the discipline, experience and, yes, talent to close out games.

Much of that reflects poorly on the point guard, only fueling speculation about Stephon Marbury.

Through it all, of course, Rivers has remained typically levelheaded, though that should hardly come as a surprise. Where many coaches might have started to tighten their grip, Rivers instead has elected to loosen it some. The Celtics might have practiced yesterday in anticipation of tonight’s affair with the Cavs, but Rivers instead opted to give his team the day off in the wake of a travel and game schedule that has had the club running ragged for the last few weeks.

Maybe this why Celtics players last season spoke of Rivers’s ability to recognize them as human beings first and basketball players second.

"Since Dec. 23, I think we’ve been home a total of three days,’’ Rivers said. "Let them go home and see their wives, their families.’’

In Boston, especially, the job of manager or coach is a tenuous position at best, a fact for which Rivers serves as Exhibit A. Two years ago, amid a talent shortage and mounting frustration, some called for his dismissal. Last summer, we were all marveling at how Rivers, before the season even began, took some of his players on a tour of the city’s championship parade route. Now the Celtics are certifiable contenders and Rivers rests somewhere in between, a man who has an entire city’s trust and the utmost confidence in his team, the kind of balance that every club strives for, particularly at the most challenging times.

"I get irritated with 'em in some ways but it’s in practice. I would tell you that they would say if I go off, it’s in practice and that’s where we do most of our teaching,’’ Rivers said when asked if the play of his team ever angers him. "If I don’t think we’re doing something right or if they don’t think something is important in the execution phase of our defense, that’s when they hear me.

:The only time I get upset [in games] is if I think we don’t play with the right team spirit. And that happens,’’ continued the coach. "I didn’t think we played hard in a couple of [recent] losses because of fatigue or whatever -- I thought we got out-hustled -- but as far as positive spirit and guys playing for purpose of winning, I think we’ve pretty much maintained that. We just got to maintain that.’’

In the interim, Rivers does what a most reasonable and confident man would do.

He waits.

The best thing about winning is that you get to choose. You get to decide who comes and who goes. You get to look at a guy like Stephon Marbury and negotiate exclusively on your terms.

Which is precisely why the Celtics should do it.

Once the possessors of a 27-2 record, the Celtics slipped up again last night in a 100-88 loss to the Marbury-free New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Despite the Celtics' recent struggles entering the game, it might have been the first time all year that they have given us any reason to worry.

The Knicks are now 13-19 in the bottom-heavy Eastern Conference, and there is simply no way the Celtics should lose to a team like New York, particularly following a stretch in which they had lost three of their last five.

Make that four of the last six.

Fittingly, this brings us to Marbury, a Knick in body if not spirit. The 2008-09 NBA season is nearly half over and Marbury has yet to appear in a game thanks to his never-ending stalemate with New York management. Sometime in the next several weeks, Marbury and the Knicks will likely negotiate a buyout of his contract, leaving him to join a potential title contender the way that Sam Cassell did almost a year ago.

Between now and then, a lot obviously has to happen in order for Marbury to end up with the Celtics. Despite weekend speculation that Marbury was headed to Boston, one NBA source recently said that was terribly premature. Even if the Knicks buy out Marbury, there is the question of whether Marbury would trigger a small-scale bidding war that could turn off potential suitors.

For now, the one thing we know is the Celtics players seem willing to take on Marbury and his, er, questionable reputation, suggesting the they would be willing to put up with his rep for selfishness if it means they could win another title. Admittedly, we live in an age in which no news becomes some news -- wouldn't it be more relevant if someone on the Celtics publicly objected to Marbury's presence? -- but at least the picture has come into better focus.

"I think it's about making the team better,'' Celtics forward and leader Kevin Garnett told reporters last night, echoing remarks recently made by both Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. "I'm not opposed to Steph, I feel like he's got a lot of basketball left in him. I know his IQ is very, very high. He is one of the best point guards out there. I wouldn't be opposed to it.

"If Steph came to this team, I'm all for that. . . . If anybody came to this team and made it better, I would be all for that.''

With regard to Marbury's potential to be a distraction, let's look at recent history. All things considered, Corey Dillon worked out just fine with the Patriots. So has Randy Moss. And there were some whispers and concerns last season that Cassell could become a disruption if he did not end up playing a major role down the stretch, fears that never materialized as the Celtics rumbled to their 17th NBA championship.

During the offseason, in fact, the Celtics re-signed Cassell almost exclusively for the springtime. So far this year, Cassell has played in as many games as Marbury: zero. The obvious difference is that the Celtics regard Cassell as a positive influence who can both serve as Garnett's confidant and Rajon Rondo's mentor, though the club certainly would not have re-signed him if he had been otherwise.

The point is this: Marbury would be here for a few months, during which he would have to be on his best behavior. What happens after that is up to the Celtics and, to a degree, Marbury, depending on how behaved during his months in green. Fairly or not, Marbury currently seems to have a great deal in common with, say, Allen Iverson, which is to say that many regard him as too selfish to win the championship that might validate his career.

In Boston, Marbury could change all that. He need look no further than Garnett, Pierce, and Allen to learn what a title can do for an image.

Want another (and admittedly simplistic) way to look at a potential Marbury acquisition? Think of it as Manny Ramirez in reverse. Hostage to Ramirez's behavior and whims over a period of seven-and-a-half seasons, the Red Sox dumped the discontented slugger at the July 31 trading deadline. While there was some debate about the merit of that decision in Boston, the people in Los Angeles regarded it as a virtual no-brainer. For two months, they got committed, motivated and supremely talented player performing at the highest level, one of the primary reasons an extremely mediocre Dodgers club reached the National League Championship Series.

For the Dodgers, the real decision with Ramirez began after the season, when it came time to determine whether he was worthy of a long-term commitment. At the moment, Ramirez remains unsigned. Clearly, the Dodgers have their doubts.

With regard to Marbury, the basketball is the easy part. The money could be another matter entirely and might be another element that could potentially dissuade the Celtics from a deal. First, because the Celtics are over the salary cap, they effectively would be required to pay the equivalent of Marbury's salary in luxury tax; that means he might actually cost them double what he might cost someone else. Beyond that, the Celtics clearly have the need for a backup big in the mold of P.J. Brown, and there is a point with every team where resources become an issue.

In that way, Marbury is hardly the proverbial slam dunk.

But if you're worried about disrupting a Celtics express that now seems to be sputtering, maybe we should all acknowledge at this stage that Marbury could do far more good than he could do harm.

Four men walk into a pub on Canal Street -- The Fours, naturally -- waiting to be seated for lunch. The host approaches and immediately recognizes the patrons, for they are perhaps the most influential men of the moment in Boston sports:

Wyc Grousbeck, John Henry, Jeremy Jacobs, and Robert Kraft -- a.k.a., The Owners. What follows is the conversation that transpired between the four members of this exclusive and remarkably successful club . . .

Host: Gentlemen, you're back! It must be that time of year again, yes?

Kraft: (In a deliberate, nasal tone) In-deed ... it ... is ... Jon-a-than. It's ... time ... for ... our ... an-nual ... lunch. This ... is ... when ... we ... give ... thanks ... for ... be-ing ... in ... the ... best ... sports ... ci-ty ... in ... A-mer-i-ca.

(Others nod.)

Grousbeck: (Eagerly) Couldn't have said it better myself, Bob. (Pause.) Can I call you Bob?

Kraft: Of ... course. Just ... don't ... call ... me ... daddy.

(Others laugh.)

Host: Right this way, gentlemen. I've reserved your usual table. Please be seated and let us know how we can serve you. Your waiter will be along shortly.

Kraft: Well ... it's ... nice ... to ... see ... you ... all ... a-gain ... boys. This ... is ... u-su-al-ly ... when ... we ... take ... time ... to ... look ... back ... on ... the ... year ... that ... was. We ... are ... tru-ly ... blessed ... to ... be ... in ... such ... a ... pass-ion-ate ... place ... for ... sports.

As ... the ... sen-ior ... rank-ing ... Bos-to-ni-an ... in ... this ... group ... let ... me ... be-gin ... by ... say-ing ... that ... it ... has ... been ... a ... glor-i-ous ... year ... for ... the ... Kraft ... fam-i-ly.

(There is awkward pause. The others look puzzled. Henry leans forward, as if to speak, when the waiter arrives with water, menus and a bread basket for the table. As the waiter promises to return for a drink order and pokes fun at Kraft, Jacobs stealthily slips a sourdough roll into his pocket.)

Henry: (His is voice so hushed the others strain to hear.) Uh, Robert, what do you mean? Hasn't this been a tough year for you? I mean, it started with the playoffs and Super Bowl. Then Spygate. Then Tom Brady got hurt. You'll be lucky if you make the playoffs.

(The others nod hesitantly.)

Kraft: Don't ... be ... sil-ly ... John. There ... is ... plen-ty ... to ... be ... thank-ful ... for. We ... were ... vin-di-ca-ted ... in ... that ... fool-ish ... Spy-gate ... non-sense ... no ... thanks ... to ... that ... stooge ... Ar-len ... Spec-ter. Tom-my's ... knee ... will ... fine. The ... game ... was ... a ... big ... dis-ap-point-ment ... but we'll ... be ... back. (Pause) Be-sides ... we ... just ... op-ened ... a new ... mall!

(Henry nods. Grousbeck smiles nervously. Jacobs slips a piece of silverware into his other pocket.)

(The waiter returns.)

Waiter: Gentlemen, I'll be happy to take any questions you have on the menu. I'm also happy to take your drink orders.

Jacobs: Do you have Buffalo wings?

Waiter: Actually, sir, we have two kinds, the traditional bone-in wings and the boneless tenders. Both come in varying degrees of hotness, with blue cheese and carrot sticks. Shall I order some for the table?

Jacobs: Which are the cheapest?

Waiter: Sir?

Jacobs: Do the hotter ones cost more? And do we have to pay more to have the bones removed? (The others hold back their laughter.)

Waiter: No sir. They all cost the same.

Jacobs: We'll have two orders of boneless for the table, then. And fire 'em up!

Waiter: Right away, sir. Drinks, gentlemen?

Grousbeck: I'll have the champagne.

Henry: I'll have a chardonnay.

Kraft: Your ... best ... scotch. On ... the ... rocks. Make ... it ... a ... dou-ble.

Jacobs: Just water, please.

Grousbeck: Do you allow cigars?

Waiter: Unfortunately no, sir
.
Grousbeck: Damn.

Henry: (Turns toward Kraft.) So wait. You actually view this as a good year? I mean, you could have had the only 19-0 season in league history. Beyond that, you didn't win the championship.

Kraft: True. ... But ... nei-ther ... did ... you. (Grins.)

Jacobs: Amen to that, Bob!

Grousbeck: Uh, boys? (Extends his right hand to reveal a colossal, downright gaudy championship ring decorated in diamonds and emeralds. The others immediately turtle. Grousbeck beams with pride.)

Jacobs: So that's what one of those looks like.

Henry:You would wear that.

Kraft: Talk ... to ... me ... when ... you ... get ... three ... of ... those ... son.

Henry: Or even two.

Grousbeck: (Turns toward Henry.) Maybe we should plan now to have lunch next summer?

(Flustered, Henry takes a sip from his water and mutters something no one else can hear.)

Jacobs: All nonsense aside, you should be proud of that, young Wycliffe. That was quite a story. For the Celtics to turn things around so quickly, you deserve a great deal of credit. You set an example for all of us. And for me, personally, you've given me hope that we can indeed turn things around and contend for a championship someday soon.

Grousbeck: Thanks, Jerry. Can I call you Jerry? I don't know where to begin. Obviously, Danny Ainge deserves a lot of the credit. I guess it's a good thing we didn't fire Doc Rivers, eh? (The owners all share a good laugh.) But really, every team should have a leader like Kevin Garnett. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, too. In fact, from top to bottom, our guys were terrific.

Henry: What happened with James Posey?

Grousbeck: Business decision.

(Kraft, Henry and Jacobs all nod knowingly.)

Kraft: Good for you, kid.

(The waiter returns with drinks and the appetizers. Kraft slugs downs his scotch. Grousbeck savors the champagne, and Henry sips his wine. Jacobs pulls a straw out of his breast pocket, peels off the wrapper and begins drinking his water while scarfing down the wings.)

Waiter: Ready to order gentlemen?

Kraft: I'll ... have ... French ... on-ion ... soup - and ... a-noth-er ... scotch.

Grousbeck: Lobster bisque and the sesame crusted ahi. Soy on the side. Can the chef add a wasabi drizzle?

Waiter: I'm sure, sir.

Grousbeck: Excellent.

Henry: I'll have the grilled chicken breast with steamed broccoli. Hold the rice, if you can, and double the broccoli.

Waiter: Will do, sir.

Jacobs: Just a side garden salad with oil and vinegar.

Waiter: Shall I bring all the food at once, gentlemen?

Grousbeck: That would be fine.

Kraft: But ... bring ... the ... scotch ... first.

(Awkward pause.)

Grousbeck: Trying to forget something, Bob? In any case, it's been a heck of a year for us. That Atlanta game last night made me especially proud. Our guys really have shown no signs of letting up and Doc has them as motivated as ever. It makes my job easy. The Garden is like a completely different place now. It's buzzing every night. Which reminds me . . .

(Grousbeck looks toward Jacobs.)

Jacobs: What?

Grousbeck: You're having a hell of a year!

Kraft: (Under his breath) It's ... a-bout ... freak-in' ... time.

Jacobs: Well, yes. It has been quite a story. I must give all of the credit to Peter Chiarelli and Claude Julien, in particular. I really do think we have the right men running our operation now. Cam, just in his presence, has made quite a difference, too. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I can sit here with all of you and feel like I belong. Really, gentlemen, I feel like we're relevant again. The coach, in particular, has made such an enormous difference. (Looks at Grousbeck.) Think of it, young Wycliffe: Two years ago at this time, neither one of us could win a game, it seemed. The Garden was not a particularly entertaining place. Now, the very best defense in professional basketball and hockey is played right here in Boston, in the TD Banknorth Garden, and the home team usually wins as a result. Defense wins, men.

Kraft: Putting his head in hands.) That's ... ex-act-ly ... what ...wor-ries ... me.

Henry: Youth is important, too.

Jacobs: I agree, especially in our sport. Speed and energy are so important. To me, a lot of this goes back to last spring, to Games 5 and 6 against Montreal, when our guys really showed some fight. Even though we lost Game 7, I think that series meant a lot to us. Our guys learned something about our coach and they learned something about themselves. They showed up looking like a different team this year. I'm proud of them.

Grousbeck: You should be.

Kraft: Now all you have to do is win a playoff series. (Laughter.)

Grousbeck: What about you, John?

(As Henry starts to speak, the waiter returns with lunch and serves each man his meal. As the others start in on their meals, Henry takes a small bite of chicken, uses his napkin to dab the sides of his mouth, and is about to speak when Jacobs interrupts.)

Jacobs: Are you really going to spend $200 million on that guy? By the way, you're buying lunch.

Henry: (Chuckles uncomfortably.) You know the rules, Jerry. We don't kiss and tell. All I can tell you is that we have always believed in putting the best team on the field. I suppose this could make it more difficult for us to peddle that nonsense about unable to spend with the Yankees, but that's a small price to pay for a world championship. And as we all know now, championships are all that matter here.

Kraft: Tell ... me ... a-bout ... it.

Grousbeck: Is it true that television ratings were down last year, by as much as 20 percent?

Jacobs: Ours are up 30 percent!

Henry: Yes, it's true. I think it was about 19.8 percent, to be exact. We think Wyc's team had something to do with that. (Smiles at Grousbeck.) We also think that our team was growing a little stale in some ways, that we needed a transfusion of sorts. That's part of the reason we're trying to do something big -- that and the fact that we have to replace Manny's bat in the lineup.

Grousbeck: Between us in the club: Was he really that much of a pain in the butt?

Henry: Think of him as, say, Allen Iverson on his worst day. But instead of skipping practice, he skipped games.

Grousbeck: Oh my.

Henry: But the goofball sure can still hit.

Jacobs: See?! Superstars aren't worth it!

(Bored, Kraft glances at his watch and mutters something that sounds like "David Bleepin' Tyree.")

Henry: This much I know, gentlemen: We're in good shape going forward. Theo has done a marvelous job with our baseball operation to position us for the short term and the long. I can't promise more championships, but I can promise more excitement and entertainment. And if Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell had been healthy in October, we might have another one of those. (Points to Grousbeck's ring.)

Kraft: What-ev-er. ... If ... A-san-te ... had ... bet-ter ... hands ... I'd ... be ... look-ing ... for ... one ... for ... my ... thumb.

(Kraft glances at his watch again, informing the others he has a meeting in Foxborough. The others chuckle, needling Kraft that he should lobbied harder for a stadium downtown. The waiter returns with the check, which Grousbeck is saddled with as the result of being the only current title-holder at the table. The others thank Grousbeck.)

Grousbeck: Happy to do it, gentlemen. With any luck, I'll be treating again next year.

Kraft: Well ... it ... prob-ab-ly ... won't ... be ... me!

Henry: (Laughing.) If we win, I'll make sure I get Tom Werner to come!

(Kraft, Henry, Grousbeck and Jacobs shake hands and exchange pleasantries, then head for the door. Jacobs lingers behind, telling the others he must use the rest room. The Bruins owner then returns to the table and asks the waiter to pack him a doggy bag with the table's leftovers, which Jacobs plans to present to the Bruins coaching staff.)

Jacobs: I told them I'd buy them lunch.

(The waiter nods. Jacobs then scurries off and the waiter begins clearing the table.)

Waiter: Hey, wait a minute. Where did all the silverware go?

* * *

The Fab Four transcript is meant to be satirical. Any similarity to real events is purely coincidental. Honest.

Two months into the defense of their 17th world title, the Boston Celtics have won 15 straight games. Overall, they are 23-2. With or without James Posey, the C's continue to boil.

Possessors of the Larry O'Brien trophy, the best record in the NBA,and a seemingly tireless pursuit of excellence, the Celtics will be in Atlanta tonight for another meeting with the ambitious Hawks. The Celtics might actually lose this one. But regardless of what takes place on the floor at Philips Arena, it is time to acknowledge the sheer relentlessness with which the Celtics continue to approach their jobs.

These guys never let up.

Ever.

Let's be honest, Celtics fans. The start of this 2008-09 season had the potential for a major letdown. The Celtics came out of the gate last season by going 29-3, then pretty much kept the pedal to the metal. They finished 66-16 during the regular season and 82-26 overall, winning the world title. The season was long. The summer was short. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen had formal validation of their respective careers and there was nothing for any of them to prove anymore.

During the spring, the Celtics had to endure on-the-job-training in postseason play. They proved to be fast learners and beat more seasoned playoff teams in Cleveland, Detroit, and Los Angeles. The Celtics may have made their return to glory look easy, but they took the floor with a workmanlike approach every night and never once seemed to stop for a breather.

This year? A letdown would have been understandable, logical, and forgivable. Instead, the Celtics continue to flatten everything in their path and once again look like the team to beat in the roundball world.

Now comes a meeting with the Hawks, who nearly picked off the Celtics in seven games during the first round of the playoffs last year, then gave the them all they could handle earlier this season -- a 103-102 Boston win, thanks to Pierce. Everything points to an Atlanta win tonight. The Hawks are 9-1 at home and have been chomping at the bit to play the Celtics again. Last spring, the Celtics played three games at Philips Arena during the playoffs and lost them all.

"This is going to be a whole different ball club than we saw last year during the regular season," Pierce told reporters. "It's going to be more like the team we saw in the playoffs. We have to come with our 'A' game or we won't be walking out of there with a win. The way they're playing at home, they're playing at a high level."

Of course, so are the Celtics.

For a moment, let's take pause here and acknowledge how difficult it is to win back-to-back championships, in any sport. In every Year After, someone else inevitably shows up better and hungrier. When it comes to winning at the highest levels, desire plays an enormous role. As much as the Celtics had the best team in the NBA last year, we can't help but come to the conclusion that the title meant more to Garnett, Pierce, and Allen than it did to anyone else.

Of Boston's true threats in the 2007-08 postseason, there wasn't an individual adversary who had accomplished more while still waiting for a title.

In recent Boston sports history, defending champions have had varying degrees of success and failure. The Patriots won back-to-back Super Bowls in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, but only after missing the playoffs altogether following their inaugural title in the 2001 season. (Hangover.) In 2005, the Red Sox looked gassed before the season even started, but somehow reached the playoffs anyway; they got swept in the first round. Most recently, the 2008 Sox made a historic comeback in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against Tampa before ultimately losing to a better team.

These Celtics? They looked a little sluggish in the early part of this season, relying on some late-game heroics from Pierce to avoid a couple of defeats. They have since hit their stride. The Celtics need just three more victories to equal the best two-loss start in NBA history (1969-70 Knicks and the 1966-67 Sixers each started 26-2), and they need to go 6-1 over their next seven games to match their 29-3 start from a year ago. The team with the least to prove in this NBA season still appears to be playing harder and more effectively than any other, which is a credit to their leadership on the floor and on the bench.

Want to hear the most mind-blowing statistic from the Celtics seasons since Danny Ainge orchestrated the basketball version of the Big Dig? Over the last two seasons, prior to January 1, the Celtics are 49-5, a winning percentage of .907 that would translate into 74 wins over the course of an 82-game schedule. Seventy-four. This year, like last, the Celtics have started the season with a home record of 14-1, appearing intent on acquiring home court advantage for when their title defense begins in earnest.

As for tonight, we all know what this game means to the young Hawks, who intend on proving that last spring was no fluke. The Hawks started this season 6-0 before losing at the TD Banknorth Garden on the second night of back-to-back games, and the defeat sent them into a slide. Beginning with the loss to the Celts, Atlanta went 6-9 over a 15-game stretch. The Hawks have since won three straight entering tonight's affair.

The Hawks have more to lose in this game than the Celtics do. An Atlanta loss would serve as additional reminder to the Hawks that they still have a good distance to travel before reaching the NBA's elite. Maybe they do, anyway. The Celtics, meanwhile, will suffer no real damage from losing this game other than the fact that a defeat would signify the end of their latest rampage through the league.

Of course, for them, that might be reason enough.

So when do the playoffs start? When do we get to find out if there is anyone in the Eastern Conference who has even a sniff of preventing the Celtics from getting to the NBA Finals again?

Playing perhaps their best game of this young season in defense of their 17th world title, the Celtics dismantled Allen Iverson and the Detroit Pistons last night in a 98-80 landslide that was not nearly so close. Minus the first 3 minutes 45 seconds of this game and the last 5:30, the Celtics walloped the Pistons by a 90-50 count in the kind of decisive, one-sided beating that led to a simple conclusion.

There may be only one team in the Eastern Conference that can stop the Celtics this year.

The Celtics themselves.

"I think we’re starting to come together,’’ coach Doc Rivers said in the hallway outside his team’s locker room following his standard postgame briefing. ``I jokingly said not too long ago that we were the most miserable 8-2 team in the world. We were winning, but we weren’t playing well."

So what happens come May and June, when the Celtics begin to recognize that the games actually mean something again?

Before we go any further, let’s make it clear that we hold certain truths to be self-evident. First, a major injury could dramatically affect the landscape for any team. (Just ask the Patriots.) Second, we are operating with the assumption that puppeteer Danny Ainge will do something to fortify this club before March and that the Celtics will not lose sufficient ground to any of their closest competitors in or around the trading deadline. Neither of those conditions comes with any guarantee.

A year ago after 13 games, the Celtics held the same 11-2 record and already had made it quite clear that they were a more serious title threat than we possibly could have anticipated. Then they won 18 of 19 to extend their record to a preposterous 29-3. In regular-season play, the Celtics are a stunning 77-18 in 95 games since the Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen transfusion, and there are absolutely no signs that those results will change anytime soon.

Don’t you see? The Celtics all but sleepwalked through chunks of their first dozen or so games and went 10-2. Then the Pistons showed up for their inaugural Garden visit this year on the heels of recent victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers – it should be noted that the latter required Detroit to play in Boston on the second night of a vicious back-to-back sequence – and the Celtics turned Detroit to floor wax after spotting the visitors a 13-2 advantage.

The point is that the Celtics are starting to look like they can turn it on and off at will, which means they understand just how good they are.

"This was a huge game for us," said Garnett, who had 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. "They’re probably one of the better teams not only in the Eastern Conference, but our league. We watched 'em play Cleveland (Wednesday) night and we knew we had to bring it."

So they did. And even though Rivers noted that it is "dangerous" for his club to coast along for long stretches of any game – this goes against the long-held philosophy of playing the full 48 minutes – rest assured that the coach and his team now have a much better understanding for when it's necessary to step on the gas.

Last night, when the Pistons started out with a worrisome 13-2 jolt, here’s what Rivers did: Nothing. Not a thing. Eschewing a timeout (as he generally does), Rivers just watched as his club righted itself and finished the first quarter with a 19-8 spurt that left the game tied at 21 after one.

After that, the Pistons were pretty much road pizza.

"If a play breaks down this year, they automatically go to the second or third option. Last year, they didn’t," Rivers said when asked how much more self-sufficient his players are on the floor this year compared to last. "And our bench is light years ahead of where it was."

Fine, so James Posey isn’t here anymore, and we’re all a little concerned about that. In the interim, Leon Powe is emerging as a consistent force, Tony Allen already has contributed more than he did in the entire 2007-08 season, and Paul Pierce has been validated as a legitimate MVP candidate who can rescue his teammates when they need rescuing.

The early complacency, if that’s what you want to call it, is not necessarily a bad thing. It is also entirely normal. Last year, after Ainge overhauled the roster, the Celtics recognized they had an opportunity they could not afford to waste. For Ray Allen, Garnett, and Pierce, in particular, the opportunity was impossible to take for granted. The most impressive thing about the Celtics' 66-16 record last year is that the club took no nights off, playing with the kind of relentless intensity and ferocity one would expect from a younger, inexperienced crew like, say, the Atlanta Hawks.

By the time the playoffs rolled around, some of us wondered just how much the Celtics had left, just how much more they could give us. Even they seemed to wonder at times. The Celtics were in the Eastern Conference Finals before they won a road playoff game, a symbolic Game 3 victory over the Pistons that gave the club the last bit of assurance it needed.

Now? The Celtics know they can win on the road in May or June because they have done it. They know where they can cheat a little during the regular season and where they cannot. And they know that as much as opponents are now gunning for them – wasn’t this true by the second half last year? – that the biggest danger for them is a complacency that could come back to haunt them in the spring.

So far, they have taken the necessary steps to avoid such a misstep.

And even if the Celtics are operating a slightly more controlled pace than they were a year ago, the rest of the conference is still chasing them.

Beyond the banner, beyond the emotional ceremonies and the symbolic rings, there was a basketball game. And the moment the ball went up, the moment Kevin Garnett once again airmailed his first shot of the season, the Celtics officially put last year behind them.

We’re willing to bet that no one was happier than Tony Allen.

Winners of 82 games last season – 66 in the regular season, another 16 in the playoffs – the Celtics began defense of their 17th NBA title last night with a 90-85 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at the TD Banknorth Garden. And so continued the NBA edition of the extreme home makeover. Before acquiring Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves prior to last season, the Celtics had roughly 7,000 season-ticket holders; last year, the number jumped to about 12,000; this year, the number climbed to 14,500 before the Celtics instituted their very own cap, meaning the large majority of last night’s sellout crowd of 18,624 will remain in its seats for the foreseeable future.

And so, the team that waited 22 years for another world title now has – get this – a waiting list.

Allen, in particular, knows about waiting, particularly after a 2007-08 campaign during which he was unceremoniously bumped from his perch. Two years ago, just as the Celtics were embarking on a franchise-record 18-game losing streak, Allen was playing the best basketball of his career. But in the midst of a 14-game stretch during which he averaged 18.9 points per game, Allen blew out his left knee, adding further indignity to a season that was probably doomed, anyway. With Paul Pierce out, too, a two-game Celtics losing streak mushroomed to a whopping 18, putting into motion the events that have delivered the Celtics to where they are today.

In the basketball Big Dig that followed, Allen became a casualty of the reconstruction. The Celtics added Garnett and, among others, the unshakable James Posey, the latter of whom all but knocked Allen to the end of the bench. Posey was counted upon to deliver offense to the second unit. He was entrusted with the role of defensive stopper. Although Allen showed flashes of his former self, he was all but bounced from the building despite being one of the few holdovers from the Al Jefferson Era.

Allen lost minutes, his confidence, his game.

Most anyone would have.

"I think last year, for Tony, was very difficult," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said after an aggressive Allen scored 11 points last night. "No. 1, it’s proven that when he plays more minutes he’s a better player. No. 2, he was coming back from an injury. It was almost set up for him to struggle last year. Now that he’s getting playing time, I think he’ll be fine."

For all that they accomplished last season, for all the distance they already have traveled, we all know what the biggest concerns are for this team as they attempt to become the first Celtics club to repeat since 1969. First, the they need to stay healthy. Second, they need to replace Posey. The second of those responsibilities will rest largely with Allen, at least to start, and it really is up to him as to whether the Celtics must renew the search.

Precisely what Allen can give the Celtics defensively still remains to be seen – he was arguably their best 1-on-1 defender before his knee injury – but his offensive game certainly seems on the way back. Allen made 4 of 9 field goals against the Cavs, repeatedly taking the ball to the basket; while he lacks Posey’s 3-point range, he makes up for it by going to the basket. Last night, no sequence better demonstrated Rivers’s trust in Allen than the coach’s decision to call an isolation play for him midway through the fourth quarter with the Celtics holding a 76-70 lead.

Looking as quick and powerful as he has in a long, long time, Allen juked, jerked and dropped a short fall-away jumper in the face of his defender, a guy named LeBron James.

"We told him he’s our offensive guy in the second unit. We told him that," Rivers said. "In the second half, I thought he [showed more patience]. We’re confident with Tony. We called that [isolation] with LeBron guarding him. And I don’t care who’s guarding Tony Allen, he’s tough to guard off the dribble."

For Allen, of course, all of this is a welcome development, particularly after he scored just 20 points in the entire playoffs last spring. In 11 of the Celtics’ 26 postseason games, Allen did not play at all. But in the opener of the 2008-09 campaign, on the night the Celtics officially put the rubber back on the road, Allen played 17 minutes and, along with Leon Powe, gave the team an enormous lift from the bench amid lackluster performances from Garnett (11 points, six rebounds) and Ray Allen (eight points on 2-for-9 shooting).

And when Allen was done, when Rivers turned the game back over to his starters for the final minutes of a season-opening win, Allen took his place on the Boston bench like a man thrilled to be back in the building, like a man happy to have his seat back, like a man who has no intention of giving it up.

Like a man who just got off the waiting list.

The architect of the Celtics has been through this sort of thing before, so Danny Ainge understands the paradox. On the one hand, the Celtics are still celebrating their restoration. On the other, what is done is done.

Opening Night ceremonies?

"For me, as a player, it was way past [the fact]," Ainge said yesterday after the Celtics went through their final preseason workout in anticipation of tonight's season opener against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. "I was already past it before training camp started, preparing for the first game and the following season. In my experience, I've always looked forward to the next game, even [now].

"I understand the excitement, the excitement for our fans and all that goes along with it," Ainge continued. "But I've been waiting for this season two days after the last season ended."

And so on and on it goes here in Boston, where championship hardware seems to arrive via an order form, like a class ring. What we have here now is a true embarrassment of riches, no matter what happened last February or this October. Tonight, as you head east on Storrow Drive before peeling off at North Station, remember to read the signs.

If you lived here, you'd be celebrating a title now.