Following a 15 point loss to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night, Doc Rivers claimed his team just wanted to win easy. Although not a glowing remark for his team, it should not get much easier than tonight for Boston.

The Celtics take on the Cleveland Cavaliers (10-32), who have the second worst record in the NBA. Making matters worse for Cleveland is the fact Anderson Varejao was ruled out for the season yesterday after doctors discovered a blood clot in his lung. Varejao was the Cavaliers third leading scorer, and was leading the NBA in rebounds per game with 14.4.

Boston will look to snap a three-game losing streak against the wounded Cavaliers. During the Celtics skid, they have averaged only 88.3 points per game. Boston’s offense should see improvement tonight, as Cleveland allows 100.6 ppg.

The first time these two teams met this season, the Celtics were also riding a three game losing streak. Boston took the first game 103-91 back in December, led by Paul Pierce who scored a season high 40 points. As a team, Boston shot an efficient 59.7 percent from the floor.

Keys to the Game:

• Will the Celtics play motivated? Rivers clearly had a problem with his team’s effort in the Detroit loss and called them out for it. Now it is up to the players to respond to their coach’s criticism.
• Slow down Kyrie Irving. He has scored at least 20 points in all four career games against Boston. Despite Avery Bradley suffering from a rib injury, he will be responsible for containing the explosive Irving.
• Boston will need to get their offense going. There has been very little rhythm in the past three games. Cleveland is not a good defensive team by any stretch. Rajon Rondo should be able to get into the paint and create easy scoring chances for himself and others.
• The Celtics need a spark from the bench. Cleveland is not a deep team and players like Jeff Green, Jason Terry and Jared Sullinger should all have matchup advantages when playing against Cavalier reserves. Two of those three players need to have good games, relieving the burden placed on Pierce and Kevin Garnett to score.

One game down, and 81 more to go.

The Celtics will visit the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight in their first back-to-back of the season. Obviously this matchup has lost some of its luster, but the Celtics should be wary of letting the Cavs sneak up on them. Its not like Cleveland is a team totally devoid of talent, it just doesn’t have one superstar any more. The closest thing to it, in fact, is Antawn Jamison, and he isn’t even a starter. Go figure.

Still, you might recall that the Celtics had some trouble against bad teams last year, droppin games to the New Jersey Nets and getting blown out at home by the Washington Wizards. That is a trend that cannot continue this season. With that, here’s what to watch out for tonight.

1) Hangover Effect: Last night’s game with Miami was obviously an emotional affair, and it ended up being closer than it looked like it would be at the beginning. This game will be a complete 180 of that contest, and don’t be surprised if the Celtics suffer through a sluggish start.

The optimal outcome would see the Celtics coming out in authoritative fashion early, but that might not be the case. If they struggle in the first quarter, chalk it up to a drop in the level of competition and a difference in atmosphere leaving the C’s lacking a bit.

2) Paul Pierce: Well, he certainly looked alright when he came back from the locker room last night, but it is not a good sign that he already had injury troubles in the first game of the year.

Remember, the small forward spot is the weakest on this team. The Celtics have one player—Marquis Daniels—behind Pierce. If he went down for any stretch they could not replace his offense in any way, shape or form. He is indispensable, so the team must monitor him and make sure he is healthy. We’ll know tonight if he has any lingering effects from that fall.

3) Rebounding: The Celtics won the battle of the boards last night 42-39, but it was a little too close for comfort. Joel Anthony pulled down seven boards early and Miami had 11 offensive rebounds on the night. For a team devoid of a solid big man, that is not going to cut it.

This Cavs team has a number of solid rebounders, including budding star J.J. Hickson, the aforementioned Jamison, frequent thorn in the Celtics’ side Anderson Varejao, and old friend Leon Powe. The Celtics will need to hit the glass hard if they want to control this game, and as I’ve mentioned before it is something that should be kept an eye on all season.