The Celtics are still experimenting, but they can go big up front with Wallace joining Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, and they can go smaller with Paul Pierce and Marquis Daniels as the forwards. There are a number of backcourt options, as well.

"When you think about lineups, you have to think about who you are going to take off the floor," said Rivers. "Paul? Kevin? Ray (Allen)? You have to be careful.

"Whether we're going big or small with it, it forces an immediate reaction from the other team. Whenever you can control a substitution, that's a good thing."

Allen is pretty much locked in as the shooting guard, but he likes the possibilities,

"This is a game of chess, and we can maneuver in a lot of ways," he said. "He can move all of us around. Now the coach has his snipers, his tanks, his ground troops. He has everything at his disposal. That's what is going to make it tough for teams.

"You can throw Paul at them, or Kevin into the pick-and-roll with (Rajon) Rondo and Marquis. It's almost like if you do too much, you're going to get in trouble."

CELTICS 118, BULLS 90: The Celtics (now 3-0) caught the Bulls on the second night of a back-to-back and made them pay with some good ball movement. The host Celtics had 33 assists, shooting 58.1 percent from the floor (50 percent on treys). Paul Pierce made 8-of-12 shots on the way to 22 points in 31 minutes.