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.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cavs have traded for Antawn Jamison and Sebastian Telfair. To get him, the Cavs had to send Big Z to the Wizards, along with a 1st round draft pick. The Wizards get Brian Skinner and Al Thorton, while the Clippers get Drew Gooden from the Wizards.

The Wizards are expected to waive Big Z so the Cavs will be able to pick him back up in 30 days. Basically out of this whole deal the Cavs had to get rid of a future draft pick… This is a great deal for the Cavs, but terrible deal for the rest of the league.

What does this trade mean in the long run? It means Lebron James is getting exactly what he asked for. Cleveland has gone out and done everything possible to bring him all the players he needs to win a championship. If he can’t do it this year.. when can he do it? However, this trade does not make up for the single minded approach Lebron takes with him into games. He can have all the talent around him, but until he uses that talent, nothing will matter. We will have to wait and see how that Cavs use this abundance of talent.

 (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)

Scal and Giddens really don’t have much swing in this trade. Neither of them have really done to much for the Celtics this year. Scal has become injury prone, and even if he is playing well, cant remain on the floor, and Giddens has gotten most of his playing time in Portland with the Red Claws. So obviously, what we are really talking here is Ray for Butler and Jamison.

First Team: Rajon Rondo / Caron Butler / Paul Pierce / Kevin Garnett / Kendrick Perkins

The Celtics aren’t going to pick up Butler and toss him onthe bench to start Eddie House. Butler would give the Celtics added height at the shooting guard position and that would probably solve some of the C’s rebounding issues. All players with exception to Rondo would be 6 foot 7 inches or taller. Plus we already know Rondo can go in there and get his fair share of boards. Allen’s 16 ppg would be given up to bring in Butlers  17. That is not a huge shift, and we also have to realize he had to score on the team he was on. Therefore, that number would not be carried over onto this team, but it still shows he has the ability.

Without question the entire makeup of the first team would change. Ray Allen would not be out there to spread the floor with his 3 ball (but the floor hasn’t been all that spread yet this year because he is struggling to make them). The Celtics would have to use the great passing they have shown, because their only real threat  from deep on the floor for the starting 5 is Pierce, who we tend to want driving to the basket.

On defense, I think this is a great deal. Who guards who now can depend on the matchups with the teams we are playing. Pierce and Butler could switch off on who they were guarding. If the shooting guard fit as a better defensive role for Pierce (example: Anthony Parker playing the 2 and Lebron the 3 for Cleveland) this could give Pierce a break for a minute in having to play Lebron on trips down the floor. Butler and Pierce are more exchangeable than Ray and Pierce on defense.

Tradeoff: Ray Allen’s 3′s and chemistry with the team for Butlers added height to the starting 5, his ability to score, ability to rebound, and change defensive assignments.

Second Team:  Marquis Daniels / Eddie House / Antawn Jamison / Big Baby / Sheed

Although Jamison has typically been the power forward, I think this option works better than sitting Baby and playing “Who is our back up point guard?”

Now I am hoping this is the way it would work out. Obviously Marquis is not your average every day point guard, but he can certainly fill the role. This could eliminate him having to work in on both positions and simply focus on one. This would allow Eddie to run around and do what he does, which is something he has struggled with all year. House has fallen out of his own game plan with how he sometimes has to bring the ball up. For backup minutes to Paul Pierce, Antawn Jamison would fill that role perfectly. Talk about a player that would get Pierce much needed rest so he doesn’t have to play 40 minutes. Sub in a player who averages 20.5 a night for Pierce averaging 18.6 and you have sparked my interest.

On the back burner to this deal is as I just mentioned, gained health to Pierce. This more than anything else would force Doc to sit Pierce and only play him in an amount of minutes that he needs. As great as Daniels has been playing, Doc still feels the need to reinsert Pierce because he figures The Truth is the best option to close out a game. He may still feel that way, but he may think twice about HAVING to put Pierce back in the game if Jamison (a proven player) is on the court and playing well.

For all I know this deal may never happen, in fact it probably will not happen. It is still fun to think about what could be- Is it not?

UPDATE: Via Ric Bucher of ESPN: Celtics not likely to make the deal because they would be taking on too much money.