Jermaine O'Neal is back in the starting lineup for the Celtics on Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers and coach Doc Rivers noted after Friday's game that the team will employ a rotation between O'Neal and Brandon Bass depending on how they match up with an opponent.

Rivers inserted Bass into the starting lineup Friday against the Chicago Bulls, shuffling Garnett to center and moving O'Neal to the bench.

"It’s a lineup that I wanted to get to," Rivers said of Bass with the starters. "There will be nights where I think the size is a factor -- [Saturday against the Pacers] is actually one of the nights, and I’m not sure which way we’re going to go. But I just sat J.O. and Brandon down, and said, ‘You two are our starters.’ There will be nights when one starts, there will be nights when the other one starts."

The Celtics have leaned on a lineup of the Big 4 and Bass at the end of games and it's clear Rivers likes the potential of that grouping, particularly given the team's first-quarter struggles at the start of games early in the season.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while," said Rivers. "Actually, I’ve been thinking about it since camp -- before camp started. It was a lineup that I wanted to get to. Because I thought it gave us more versatility and I thought our rotations were easier. When you bring Jermaine in for Kevin, you stay big. And what I’m trying to do is always have Jermaine or Kevin -- just size on the floor more."