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A look at offday headlines, including Stephen A. Smith saying the Celtics are "disintegrating before our eyes," and a look at the Celtics' emotional return home:

Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley finished 12th in this year's balloting for Defensive Player of the Year. The lingering question is whether he deserved better.

Bradley, a third-year guard, landed on just five of 121 ballots cast by sportswriters and broadcasters, but earned a pair of first-place votes while accruing 15 points overall. Memphis' Marc Gasol won the award with 30 first-place votes and a total of 212 points, while LeBron James (149 points), Serge Ibaka (122), Joakim Noah (107), and Tony Allen (102) rounded out the top 5.

A few thoughts on where Bradley landed this year:

* Those that stumped for Bradley will point to his individual defensive numbers, most notably those from Synergy Sports. In terms of points allowed per possession, Bradley was No. 1 among all players with at least 250 possessions defended at 0.697 points per play (next closest was old friend Marquis Daniels at 0.707 ppp). What's more, Bradley was also tops in opponent field goal percentage (30.8) and opponent score percentage (31.8). He wasn't perfect, but when he kept his man in front of him, he made things very difficult for that player (whether that was harassing opposing ball-handlers or making shots difficult for shooters).

* Boston's barely-better-than-.500 record certainly didn't help Bradley's cause (he was the only Celtics player to receive a vote, despite being a team that ranked sixth in defensive rating this season). What's more, the fact that Bradley missed the first 30 games of the season likely played a role in driving down his vote total.

* It's a big man's award. Always has been, with Gary Payton really the only exception in the past two decades.

* This is a step in the right direction for Bradley, who tied for 14th place last season with only two points.

* The more important defensive honors await with the NBA's All-Defense teams announced next month. That's voted on by the league's 30 head coaches and is position specific. It will be interesting to how Bradley fares there.

Read on for the full voting and previous year's recipients:

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After playing Jordan Crawford just over 10 minutes in the Celtics' Game 1 loss of their first-round playoff series with the New York Knicks, head coach Doc Rivers vowed to give him more time in Game 2, and did so, as Crawford logged 25:15 of floor time in Boston's 87-71 loss on Tuesday.

But the increase in time for Crawford meant fewer minutes for Courtney Lee, who played over 20 minutes in Game 1, but just four minutes in Game 2, checking in late in the fourth quarter when the game was already decided.

Rivers was asked Wednesday about his preference of Crawford over Lee, and he said he simply thinks Crawford is playing better than Lee right now.

"Yeah, it's not that deep," Rivers said. "I just think right now (Crawford is) is (playing better) and I think offensively he gives you a better shot at it. Courtney, defensively, is better, so it really depends on -- with us, because of the injuries we have at the guard spots, it really depends on the matchups for us, whether Jordan, in certain spots, or Courtney, will play. And that's just the way it's going to be."

Lee had been a part of Rivers' rotation for virtually all of the regular season, but he suffered a left ankle sprain late in March and missed three consecutive games. Rivers noted that during Lee's brief absence and in the games he spent trying to re-establish a rhythm, Jeff Green and Crawford both played well and earned greater consideration for postseason minutes.

Following Tuesday's loss, Lee downplayed the rotation talk, saying that he was frustrated only because the team lost, and not because he suffered a dip in minutes.

"Because we lost (my frustration level is) high," Lee said. "But, because of the rotation, that doesn't bother me. If we had won, it'd have been a good thing. But, it doesn't bother me at all. Like I said, because we lost everybody's frustration level is up."

Rivers said he discussed playing time with Lee, telling him "there's a competition for minutes," and reiterated that everyone needs to be ready to play when their name is called, regardless of how long they might be on the floor.

"In the playoffs, you've got to be ready when you're ready and when you're called," Rivers said. "You can't have any excuses or anything like that. Every team shortens the bench, guys play more minutes, some guys play less. The starters play more, everybody else plays less. You've just got to be bought into the team and if you get called for a minute you have to be ready, or 20 minutes you have to be ready. That's what winning teams do."

Rivers acknowledged Lee's advantage over Crawford on defense, and, because of that, it's still possible Lee could see a renewed uptick in minutes during certain points of this series. And that's what Lee is focusing on, noting after Tuesday's loss that he'll remain ready in the event Rivers does decide to utilize him again.

"You've just got to be ready if he does call your name," Lee said. "That's how I go into every game. That's how I'm going to approach the next one."

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers said center Kevin Garnett suffered something similar to a hip pointer during Tuesday's loss to the New York Knicks in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference first-round series at Madison Square Garden. Rivers stressed the injury is not serious and he does not expect him to keep Garnett off the floor moving forward.

Garnett is expected to participate in practice Thursday and be in the starting lineup for Friday's Game 3 at TD Garden. Garnett sat out 10 of the final 13 games of the regular season due to both ankle inflammation and strategic rest.

"He got hit in the -- it’s not the hip flexor, [but] a hip-pointer. It was very similar to having a hip-pointer in football, I guess," said Rivers. "It was affecting him. I was concerned that he had done something else, because where he was grabbing his hip, but I thought it was his stomach, where you pull a stomach muscle or something. That’s why I think in a couple timeouts, I kept asking if was he OK. And he is, he’s good."

Pressed on the injury, Rivers added: "He’s good to go. He’ll practice [Thursday] and then play on Friday."

Rivers said the Celtics plan to go right back to Garnett, who was disrupted by foul trouble that knocked him off his rhythm in Game 2. Heading into that game, the Celtics were focused on getting him more involved on offense.

"Him getting in foul trouble had a huge impact on the game," said Rivers. "We gotta find a way to keep him out of that. That hurt us. And it was clear. Listen, if Carmelo (Anthony) gets in foul trouble, it’s going to have a huge impact on the game for them. It did for us, no doubt. I actually thought Kevin started out great, you could see he was aggressive, ready, we were getting him in his spots. But, guys, you’ve been around this long enough, if you get two fouls early like he did, he really never was allowed to get his rhythm again."

When asked about force-feeding him again in Game 3, Rivers noted, "We got him right to the right spots that we wanted to, but again, he was sitting next to me a lot."

Rivers, who dubbed some of the early whistles against Garnett as "horrendous" after Game 2, hinted the league might not have been happy with his choice of adjectives.

"I didn't think I said much and that could be a problem," admitted Rivers. "Because all I basically said was, Kevin getting into foul trouble had a huge impact on the game. That's not criticizing officials. So I've just got to make sure I focus on our stuff."

Rivers said the team watched film on Wednesday and he again stressed to his players the need to make things easier on themselves on offense.

"The game, it’s not as difficult as we make it at times. In the first half, we got a lot of early baskets, a lot of transition baskets, we were so active defensively that we got out into breaks and we were able to score," said Rivers. "It’s what I said since [Rajon] Rondo’s gone down, that’s how we have to score. For us to score, though, we have to be even a better defensive team, and we were in the first half. In the second half, the third quarter, we gave up 32 points. And so everything felt like we were walking the ball up the floor, or under an amazing amount of pressure, and that’s where the Knicks, they clearly turned up the pressure. But the only way they were doing that is because they were scoring. And that allowed them to set their defense. It’s still connected and we have to be better."

Rivers said he believes that coming back to Boston -- a place the Celtics haven't played since April 10 after their regular-season home finale was cancelled in the aftermath of the marathon bombings -- will undoubtedly help his team.

"It feels like a month," said Rivers, whose team had been out of the area for a full week before returning home after Tuesday's game. "It will be great to be home. Obviously, this is an extreme circumstance, we missed our last home game of the year, which I don't know if that’s ever happened. And we’ve been on the road ever since. First of all, it’s just good to be back in Boston, period. Second, it will feel great and be great to be back in the Garden, playing in front of our fans. But we have to play better. We have to play harder. I thought clearly, the Knicks came out in the second half and, acted far more desperate than we did. And I thought it showed in the way they played."

Over the nearly three full days of hype leading to Game 3 of an Eastern Conference first-round series between the Celtics and Knicks, you’ll be reminded often about the perils of the 0-2 deficit.

By now you know the daunting data: Only 15 teams in NBA history have come back to win a series after being down 2-0 and that 94.4 percent of home teams that win Games 1 and 2 go on to advance. You’ll be told the Celtics are, appropriately, 0-2 after losing the first two games of a series in the Kevin Garnett era (Miami eliminated Boston both times -- in seven games in the 2012 conference finals and five games in the 2011 conference semifinals).

And yet when Jeff Green was asked after Tuesday's Game 2 about the long odds facing his team and whether he was worried, he offered, "Not concerned at all."

What else would a player whose team is in an 0-2 hole say? Yes, the Celtics have put themselves in position to win twice in New York before cringeworthy second-half efforts helped the Knicks emerge. But Celtics coach Doc Rivers was a bit more blunt on the topic.

“I guess they say the series hasn’t started -- and I’ve heard this corny line a million times -- until the road team wins,” said Rivers. “I am positive the series has started because we are down 2-0.”

If Rivers is looking for a confidence boost, he can ask Jason Terry to regale his teammates with tales of the 2005 Dallas Mavericks, who rallied from an 0-2 hole to top the Houston Rockets during the first round of the playoffs that year despite losing two home games to open the series.

“We lost those first two at home and went in their building and beat them pretty good twice and ended up winning in seven games,” recalled Terry. “Again, it's a long series. You can't get too high or too low. You've just got to keep grinding and watch the film and understand what you have to do to be successful. And right now, it's playing a full 48 minutes of basketball. We haven't done that yet."

Will Terry impart lessons from that experience?

“No question,” he said. “Our veterans have been through a lot. But the young guys must understand that them winning two games at home -- good for them. Now we're going to do our job."

Boston has no choice. No team has ever rallied from a 0-3 deficit.

With Kevin Garnett limited by foul trouble, Boston fell into 2-0 hole versus the Knicks:


And a look at how things are playing at ESPN New York:

NEW YORK -- The Celtics have done a solid job defending the 3-point line during the first two games of an Eastern Conference first-round series against the Knicks, but they let up just long enough during Tuesday's Game 2 and it might have ultimately caused them to unravel.

Owning a six-point lead coming out of halftime, the Celtics watched Iman Shumpert connect on a pair of triples over the first 122 seconds of the third quarter to tie the game and swing a pingponging momentum back to New York. The Knicks utilized it to dominate the third quarter, outscoring Boston by 21 in the frame en route to an 87-71 triumph at Madison Square Garden.

"They attacked us and we didn't handle it very well," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "We have to be able to do better. I don't know what we are doing wrong in the beginning of third quarters, but we gave up those two back-to-back 3s, which helped their confidence."

Later Rivers added: "It was our defense in the third quarter, clearly. We gave up 3s that we don't give up in this series. I don't know. We didn't come out with the same mentality we did in the first half. I don't know why and I need to find that out in the next two days."

The Knicks connected on 7 of 19 3-pointers (36.8 percent) on Tuesday, but were a mere 1-of-10 in the second half outside of Shumpert's early outburst. It was enough to help New York build as much as a 16-point lead as Boston struggled mightily to generate its own offense.

"We opened up their 3-point game," said Paul Pierce. "We came out and gave Shumpert those two early 3s ... and we’ve been defending the 3 pretty much well all game, and that was a point of emphasis. We have to do a better job, in that aspect, overall. You have a team that’s shooting 40 percent [and averaging] 85 points -- a lot of things we’re doing well, defensively."

Echoed Courtney Lee: "Those two 3s by Shumpert were huge. It was back-to-back, they tied the game up, and then once it's a game, it's anybody's game when it's tied."

Read on for a few other postgame notes on the bench:

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Game 2 between the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics was once again a tale of two halves. The Celtics led by six at halftime, shot 56 percent from the field, and held the Knicks to 38 percent shooting. Carmelo Anthony was also held in check (3-for-11 in the first half). But the Knicks struck back, as has been the theme of the series. Let’s take a closer look:

Abysmal shooting

The second half was a completely different story from the first. For the second consecutive game, the Celtics appeared to run out of gas. Tuesday night they were 7-for-36 (19.4 percent) from the floor in the second half. That’s their worst shooting performance in any postseason half over the last 15 seasons. Boston scored 24 points in the paint -- including the regular season that’s tied for their lowest output in a game this season. During this series, the Celtics are averaging 27 points in the paint after putting up 38.1 during the regular season.

Offensive diversity

Anthony has scored 30 or more points in four consecutive postseason games. His production in both halves has been nearly identical. However, Anthony has passed 17 more times in the second halves of the games, helping the Knicks to a 33-point second-half advantage in the series. The Knicks scored 26 points on pick-and-roll plays in the second half in Game 2 after scoring 13 points on those plays in the first half. The Knicks averaged 1.18 points per play on the pick-and-roll in the game and averaged 0.68 points per play on isolations.

Importance of being up 2-0

When the home team wins the first two games of a series, they have gone on to advance 94.4 percent of the time. Only 15 teams in NBA history have come back to win a series after being down 2-0 (Oklahoma City came back from a 2-0 deficit last postseason). Game 3 on Friday will be even more important; no NBA team has ever come back to win a series from a 3-0 deficit.

NEW YORK -- Following the Celtics' 85-78 loss in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series with the New York Knicks, head coach Doc Rivers felt Jeff Green had been asked to do too much, between his scoring and having to defend Carmelo Anthony. But after Tuesday's 87-71 loss in Game 2, Rivers believed Paul Pierce was the overburdened Celtic, as Boston's captain couldn't will his team through its second consecutive game of second-half offensive woes.

Over 37:38 of floor time, Pierce had 18 points on 8-of-19 shooting and six rebounds and six assists, but he committed a team-high five turnovers and finished a game-worst minus-28 in plus/minus.

But in a game that saw Kevin Garnett battle foul trouble throughout, Green contribute a mere 10 points and the Celtics fall victim to some of the same problems on offense that hampered them in Game 1, Rivers summed up Pierce's night as trying to mask the team's many weak spots.

"He needs some help," Rivers said. "I think Paul was playing pretty well. He started getting tired in the second half because he tried to do everything."

The Celtics mustered just 23 second-half points in Tuesday's loss, the lowest second-half scoring output in franchise playoff history. Even more frustrating for the Celtics was how reminiscent it all was of Game 1, as a lack of ball movement and an aggressive Knicks defense hampered Boston's ability to put the ball in the basket.

Pierce wanted to keep his team in the game. He wanted to match Carmelo Anthony -- who scored a game-high 34 points -- shot for shot, isolation play for isolation play. But he couldn't, and it's unlikely that'll be how Boston fights its way back into this series, if it even can.

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NEW YORK -- Rapid reaction after the New York Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics 87-71 during Game 2 of an Eastern Conference first-round series at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks lead the best-of-seven series 2-0:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 34 points on 11-of-24 shooting, spearheading a key third-quarter outburst as New York raced away and tightened its grip on the series. Freshly minted Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith added 19 points, while Raymond Felton continued his role as Boston pest, chipping in 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Paul Pierce scored a team-high 18 points on 8-of-19 shooting with six rebounds and six assists but was again plagued by turnovers, committing a team-high five (with more of what he had labeled the "bonehead" variety) and was a game-worst minus-28 in plus/minus. Kevin Garnett finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds but played a mere 24 minutes due to foul trouble that limited his effectiveness for much of the first three quarters on a night the Celtics desperately needed to lean on him.

TURNING POINT
After a streaky first half that saw the Celtics build their lead as high as nine late in the first half (they led by six at halftime), Boston's offense crumbled in the second half for the second time this series. The Knicks opened the third quarter on a 24-4 run while building a 14-point cushion. Anthony scored nine points as the Knicks were 8-of-10 shooting during a 7:30 spurt to start the half, but it was Boston's offensive futility that sealed its fate. The Celtics were 1-of-11 shooting (9.1 percent) with Pierce contributing the only field goal as the Knicks raced away.

EARLY FOUL TROUBLE FOR KG
After three days of hearing about the importance of getting Garnett involved early, KG splashed a jumper 27 seconds in. But that was about as good as it got. A turnover and two fouls in an 18-second span forced Garnett to the bench with 8:39 to play in the first frame. Garnett got his fourth foul 3:30 into the third quarter and was a helpless spectator for the Knicks' game-changing run.

WILCOX MAKES PLAYOFF DEBUT
Celtics coach Doc Rivers went with Chris Wilcox as the much-anticipated first big off the bench (after not using one in Game 1) in what was Wilcox's first postseason appearance in an 11-year career. Wilcox played three scoreless first-half minutes, grabbed one rebound and was minus-6 in that span. If not for the lopsided nature of the game, he might not have returned. Rivers emptied the bench down the stretch, getting playoff minutes for Shavlik Randolph and Terrence Williams. Courtney Lee saw himself demoted to late-game minutes, playing the final 4:14.

WHAT IT MEANS
The Celtics will cling to the notion that a series doesn't start until a home team loses and say the Knicks simply held serve by winning the first two games of the series. But while Boston had its opportunities in each of the first two games, it also had head-shaking offensive lulls and critical errors in each that doesn't emphatically suggest a team capable of winning a best-of-seven series against a quality opponent. The Celtics hope coming home will provide a spark, but that alone will not be enough to get back in this series. Boston desperately needs to figure out how to mask its offensive deficiencies. Two days off await as the series shifts to Boston for Games 3 (Friday) and 4 (Sunday).

NEW YORK -- Basketball, finally.

While the Boston Celtics admit there are far worse cities to be stranded in than New York, the 72-hour crawl to the start of Game 2 has been arduous, particularly as they've been dwelling on a sloppy Game 1 loss. And after what amounts to three straight days of trying to correct all its errors from Saturday afternoon's defeat, Boston is relieved to get back on the court Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

"Especially on the road, you'd rather get right back at it," admitted Rivers. "You just feel like you're sitting around the room and doing things like that, but obviously being in New York helps in some ways. It's not a bad city to hang out in and go have dinner. So I think we'll be ready."

For the Knicks, Pablo Prigioni is back in the starting lineup after sitting out Game 1. How does that change things for Boston?

"Well, it just gives them another decision-maker. I mean, he's brilliant," said Rivers. "He's another Jason Kidd-ish type guy and so it just gives them another smart player on the floor and another guy that can create plays, and that makes them really good. It's no coincidence that when he's in the lineup they play better, because they have a lot of IQ on the floor at the same time."

The Celtics are hoping that a somewhat undersized backcourt of Prigioni and Raymond Felton allows Boston to take advantage at the 2-guard spot by getting Paul Pierce the ball near the post.

"We're going to attack whoever guards Paul," said Rivers. "I'm sure [Knicks coach Mike Woodson is] thinking the same thing. It doesn't matter who's guarding Paul, Paul's going to get the ball, he's going to get it in the post, they're going to come trap. Hopefully there's an advantage there."

Let's play some basketball.

The Boston Celtics visit the New York Knicks in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference first-round series Tuesday night. Here's what to watch for:

* MORE TOUCHES, SHOTS FOR KG: Keeping with the annual spring tradition, the Celtics have preached a desire to get Kevin Garnett more touches and better shots in the postseason (this after he had a quiet Game 1, offensively). How does Garnett get himself easier looks? "Just play basketball, man," he said. "Our sets are called and our plays are designed for, obviously, movement, opportunity. Within those opportunities, I've just got to be aggressive with those, without coming out of formality or what we've been doing since this point. When I get baskets, it's because I've taken advantage of options within the offense and I haven't overstepped or anything outside of that. So I'm going to stick with that, but obviously being more aggressive with the opportunities that I do get."

* C'S WANT BETTER PASSES: The Celtics were plagued by 21 turnovers in Saturday's Game 1 loss. What's more, many of those turnovers were what Paul Pierce dubbed "boneheaded" plays. Celtics coach Doc Rivers thinks it's as simple as making better decisions with the ball -- and decreasing the degree of difficulty on some passes. "I thought most our turnovers were forced, guys were trying to do too much with the pass," Rivers said. "The good news is they were trying to pass; the bad news is they were trying to pass. Some of the passes, really, should have just been down the sideline and to the post, instead of the guy with the ball was trying to make the pass. Again, they are correctable, but give the Knicks credit, some of those turnovers were forced by [Jason] Kidd and some by their hands."

* BENCH WARMING? The Celtics watched a three-guard reserve unit of Courtney Lee, Jordan Crawford and Jason Terry combine for zero field goals and a measly four points in Saturday's Game 1. Rivers takes some of the blame for not playing his reserves more but said he simply needs more from whoever is on the floor for Boston in Game 2. "The bench didn’t play a lot, so I don’t overdo that [low point total]," Rivers said. "If our bench had of played and we only had four points, then I would have been like, 'We have to get more points from our bench.' We do have to get more production from our bench, but I didn’t play them a lot. Our starters played a lot of minutes. So if you’re going to do that, you’re going to have to get more production from your starters."

* LET'S PLAY SOME BASKETBALL: The Celtics and Knicks essentially had three full days off between Games 1 and 2. Storylines from Game 1 have been picked clean, and it's clear both teams are ready to get back on the floor. It will be interesting to see how both sides respond to the extended rest. New York undoubtedly likes the downtime for its veteran legs, but both teams likely are a bit antsy. The question is whether there will be any lingering rust for teams that have played just one game in nearly a week's span.

NEW YORK -- After scoring 20 points in the first half of the Celtics' 85-78 loss to the Knicks in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round series, Jeff Green mustered just six points over the final 24 minutes as he logged a game-high 45:35 of floor time and spent a portion of that defending New York's Carmelo Anthony.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said fatigue from playing too many minutes might have factored into Green's second-half output, but Green said Tuesday he has to remain aggressive on offense, even if he's playing heavy minutes.

"I've just got to do it," Green said before the team's morning shootaround at Madison Square Garden. "I've just got to play through the fatigue. I've got to continue to look for mine, basically. There's no excuses now. I want to be out there, I want to compete. I want to play against the best, I want to guard Carmelo, I want to do it all. It's just something I've just got to get through."

Green found himself in a comfortable rhythm early on in Game 1 as he connected on 7 of 10 shots in the first half and made all three of his free throws. Said Green: "I got to the free throw line, I made a couple of shots on the perimeter to get me going and I got some layups in transition. That's how you get yourself going, that's how you get a rhythm."

But Green's rhythm evaporated in the second half as he converted only one of five shots and couldn't keep Boston afloat after it built a seven-point third-quarter lead. Between film sessions and practice time, Green said he has gotten a lot out of Boston's two off days and is ready to make the necessary adjustments in Game 2.

"Just continue to be more aggressive in the open court," Green said of what he can do better Tuesday. "That's about it. Defensively, continue to make everything for Carmelo tough, and just keep him off the offensive boards and get all the 50-50 plays."

NEW YORK -- More than 72 hours will have passed between the conclusion of Saturday's Game 1 and tipoff for Tuesday's Game 2 of an Eastern Conference first-round series between the Celtics and Knicks. Boston has spent much of that extended downtime focusing on all the self-inflicted mistakes that allowed New York to take an early series lead.

While the Celtics are not a team to reject extended rest, it's clear that players are eager to get back on the floor and clean up those miscues in the hopes of tying this series before it shifts back to Boston.

"We can’t turn the ball over, we gotta stay in transition, we have to space the floor, but bottom line is, offensively, we have to play better, obviously," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of his team's keys in Game 2. "I’m sure [the Knicks] are thinking the same way. A lot of our [errors] were self-inflicted, so we have to do a better job there."

The Celtics watched film Sunday and hit the practice floor on Monday. There's only so much players can do to ensure the same mistakes won't happen again.

"I don’t know how you work on turnovers," admitted Rivers, whose team gave the ball away 21 times during Saturday's loss. "We really just got back into doing what we do. We worked on execution a lot [Monday], and that’s something we’ve been doing for the last six weeks, really."

A few more notes and quotes from shootaround at Madison Square Garden:

• MUST-WIN GAME?: In every series, the team that loses the first game is swarmed with questions about the importance of Game 2 and avoiding a 2-0 hole. Is Tuesday a must-win game for the Celtics? "Every game is a must-win game," said Jeff Green. "It's the playoffs. That's the only way you move on is to win, so you go into every game thinking it's a must-win." After the Bulls, who are sharing the same New York hotel with Boston this week, evened their series with the host Nets on Monday night, Avery Bradley noted, "I feel like anybody would say it'll always be good to steal one of their home games away from them, just like Chicago last night. I'm pretty sure they were happy with that win, because it's always tougher playing away. So [the Knicks] probably feel like it's a must-win game because when they go to Boston it's going to be a little tougher."

• MSG MEMORIES: Rivers knows all too well that a 2-0 hole is not insurmountable. During the 1992-93 season, Rivers was part of a Knicks team that won 60 regular-season games; in the playoffs, the Knicks had a 2-0 series lead on the underdog Bulls. Chicago rallied to win the next four games, including a tight Game 5 in New York. Those aren't some of Rivers' fonder memories, but a friendly reminder of what's possible when a top seed holds serve at home.

• MORE BIG TALK: After leaning on a three-guard bench in Game 1, Rivers has hinted he'll add a big to the rotation on Tuesday. But he stressed that the game will dictate whether he sticks with that plan. Rivers had previously noted that he might go big only in the first half with the goal of simply driving down starter minutes to keep them fresh in the second half (Boston scored only eight points in the fourth quarter of Game 1). "It's really a game decision," said Rivers. "It’s easy to state it now; I don’t know what that does. So we'll kind of wait for the game to start, see how guys on our team are playing, and how their lineups are, and go from there."

Despite lofty compliment from coach Doc Rivers, Celtics forward Brandon Bass said no performance is perfect unless it ends in a victory: