Tony Allen is replacing Paul Pierce in the starting lineup while he is out of action. Allen has played in 26 games (6 starts) for the Celtics this season and he is averaging 19.5 minutes, 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Allen is a outstanding shooter from the floor hitting 51.7% of his shots from the floor but he is not a good three point shooter as he hasn’t many any this season. The bottom line is no matter how well Allen plays the Celtics will still miss Paul Pierce.

The Celtics will be without starting small forward Paul Pierce for a while due to a sprained foot. The Celtics are actually glad that it was just a sprain as many were reporting that he broke his foot. Pierce has played in 41 games (all starts) for the Celtics this season and he is averaging 35.7 minutes, 18.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. The one area the Celtics will really miss him while he is out is his three point shooting (46.7%) which can’t be replaced.

The Boston Celtics’ star power forward Kevin Garnett has not been himself this season due to a problematic knee.  He has missed 16 games because of his ailing knee and returned to play on January 22nd.  Garnett has not looked himself since his return and the Celtics’ recent struggles has a lot to do with an unhealthy Garnett.  Since his return, Garnett has played in six games and is averaging 13.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 32 minutes per game.  Garnett has a very good mid-range jumper, so he is still shooting at a very good percentage during those games (53%), but he has been very gingerly on that knee and is obviously hobbled by it.  He has not been aggressively taking it to the rack and is relying too heavily on that jumper.  His knee has limited most on the defensive end of the court.  Once the key part of a great Celtics’ defense, Garnett is almost a liability on defense now.  He doesn’t have the strength, quickness, and lift that we have grown accustomed to seeing from KG and if his knee does not get better soon the Celtics are not going to get far in the Eastern Conference playoffs.  Many believe the Celtics should sit Garnett out for a couple of weeks and let his knee heal.  I think they should keep Garnett in the lineup, as KG at 80% can still contribute.  Playing can also actually help strengthen his knee as long as he is not risking further injury.  They should definitely limit his minutes though since they don’t want KG to break down before or when the playoffs start.  Around 20-25 minutes per game would be better than the 30-35 minutes they are playing him now.

With “Big Baby” Davis and Rasheed Wallace ahead of him for bench minutes at forward, Brian Scalabrine better pick up the pace or he’s going to be nailed to the end of the bench. Scalabrine has played in 35 games (3 starts) this season for the Celtics and he is averaging 10.0 minutes, 1.8 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Scalabrine’s shooting has been awful this season as he is only hitting 35.9% from the floor, 30.8% from three point range and 66.7% from the free throw line. If his shooting doesn’t improved his minutes on the court will disappear.

A month ago it seemed like the Celtics were going to run away with the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. But they have only won 3 of their last 10 games and don’t look now but the Raptors are only 4.5 games behind them. They have also fallen to fourth in the Eastern Conference. Part of the problem is the Celtics have been playing poorly at home as they are 13-8 there this season. The good news is that they are 16-8 on the road this year. They need a little more out of the offense as they are averaging 99.1 points per game but they are still tough on D allowing only 93.8 points per game. I think the Celtics will need to monitor the minutes that Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnestt get in the second half of the season because these guys are getting a little long in tooth.