1. Kevin Garnett's gait. Obviously.
2. Doc Rivers' big-man rotation. This was a curiosity at the start of the training camp, but it has become a question mark due to Glen Davis' injury (the latest reports say that Davis is confirming that he'll be on the shelf for six to eight weeks). I talked to a friend this morning and he calmed me down a little bit, pointing out that we have three very good post players who should play the great majority of the minutes available at the power forward and center positions.
An even distribution of those minutes would be 32 per man, a little on the high side for Garnett given his mileage and the fact that he's coming off the knee injury, but something that Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace should be able to handle. Of course, to achieve such an even distribution and to keep two of them on the court at the same time while giving everyone ample rest, Doc would have to do something like play them in six-minute shifts. Doc's preference the last couple years has been to remove Perkins or Garnett with around two minutes left in the first quarter, then sit the other at the start of the second. I'm sure that a similar plan was in place before Davis' injury. It'll be interesting to see how Doc adjusts, and whether Shelden Williams plays a major part or just fills in.
3. How the Celtics Defend Shaq. The Diesel doesn't really scare me (Perkins can definitely handle him), but a common tactic against O'Neal throughout his career has been to send him to the free throw line rather than give him the thunderous jams he gets by virtue of his size. As thin as the Celtics are up front with Davis and Scalabrine out, however, Perkins can't afford to spend those fouls. It will be interesting to see whether we concede some of those easy buckets to O'Neal, and whether Cleveland relies on him a bit more heavily because of it.
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