Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have always logged heavy minutes during their careers, but with all three now in their 30s, they couldn't be expected to average 40-plus minutes a night. As the Celtics reach the one-quarter checkpoint of the season this week, Coach Doc Rivers has managed to keep the trio all below that 40-minute average through 19 games. The 31-year-old Garnett, who entered the season averaging 38.3 minutes per game in his career, is actually down to 35.8 minutes this season. The 30-year-old Pierce, coming off an injury-plagued season, is at 37.5 minutes, right around his career average of 37.8 minutes. Only the 32-year-old Allen has had his minutes increase this season (team-high 38.8) from his career average (37.5). ... "I think each guy is different," said Rivers. "To me, between 38 and 36 (minutes) would be great. But that's not going to happen every night. On the average, if that works out, then I'm happy with it." We'll see how this plays out over time. If the team keeps having relatively easy games that turn into blowouts, minutes shouldn't be much of a concern. However, I think there's a legitimate concern about fatigue setting in, especially after we inevitably have to play several grind-it-out games in a row. 36 to 38 per night on average sounds about right, although I wouldn't mind going even lower than that in the regular season. We're going to be asking these guys to play 16 extra games this season -- something none of our stars are used to -- so Doc should get them rest where he can. --

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