"A third of the way through the season, Celtics coach Doc Rivers would like to say he has a read on his team, but aside from the record (23-4) and the winning streak (14 games), it's hard to gauge because of all the injuries.

"I don't know, because we don't have our team, really,'' Rivers said. "Record-wise, we're great, but as far as getting better and progressing as a team, for a coach, that's my concern. We're winning games. We're not improving a lot because we don't have enough guys right now.''

The Celtics started to peak after an embarrassing loss Nov. 21 in Toronto, going to Atlanta the next night and blowing out the Hawks by 23, and winning every game since. But those wins have come in every imaginable fashion with seemingly every conceivable lineup."