With Rondo And Ray Out, Celtics Will Start Bradley And Pietrus

It doesn't sound like Ray Allen is going to be ready to play for game 2, so the starting backcourt will be Avery Bradley and Mickael Pietrus.

Bradley-Pietrus set to be backcourt pairing - The Boston Globe

The Celtics won twice in a 24-hour span in late January with a Bradley-Pietrus starting backcourt – 91-83 at Orlando and 94-87 over Indiana in Boston. Neither guard generated significant numbers, but Bradley’s defense against the Magic’s Jameer Nelson and the Pacers’ Darren Collison set the tone.

Celtics have proven they can be troubleshooters - The Boston Globe

"We’ve gone down this road before, with injury, we played well in that stretch,’’ Rivers said. "This is a resilient basketball team. That’s what we’ve been all year. I don’t know whether we are going to win or lose tomorrow but I can guarantee you we’ll be ready to play.’’

We can also expect to see an increase in minutes for Keyon Dooling and perhaps Sasha Pavlovic.

"We pay everybody. I say that all the time and I say it as a joke but I mean it,'' Rivers said. "We pay everybody. We just don't pay five or six guys. We pay them to be ready. Someone is going to have to step up for us.