After suffering three concussions in less than a month, Celtics forward Brian Scalabrine has been diagnosed with postconcussion syndrome and will need at least the rest of the month to recover, coach Doc Rivers said yesterday. Going back to his college days, Scalabrine said, he has had five concussions, and the recent ones have made it difficult to do simple things such as reading books or watching television. Rivers, who wondered whether the team allowed Scalabrine to return to the court too quickly, said he won't start monitored basketball workouts until he shows signs of improving. Scalabrine suffered two concussions in January, getting hit with an elbow from Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki Jan. 25, then being knocked in the head by Patrick O'Bryant in practice two days later. A blow to the neck that knocked him out of a Feb. 23 win over Denver ultimately was diagnosed as Scalabrine's third concussion in less than a month. "It surprised me," Rivers said. "I was prepared honestly a little bit for it, but I thought there was a chance because he looked so good the other day. It looked like he was responding. I was hoping he was maybe a week out. It's a little longer than we anticipated, but the good news is that it looks like he'll be back before the playoffs." With Scalabrine, Kevin Garnett (knee strain), and Tony Allen (left thumb), the Celtics are dealing with injuries to several pieces of last year's championship team. At the same time, they're trying to ease in new additions in Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore, a process that seemed easier a year ago when the Celtics brought in P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell, Rivers said, because the team was generally injury-free. "The main reason it's tougher is last year when we brought guys in, everyone's been healthy," Rivers said. "This year when we've brought guys in, everyone's been injured. "It's not just the two new guys, there's also three guys out. You could make a case that it's a five-player change, and late in the year that's difficult. "Having said that, everyone has injuries; we're just one of another team that has them and we still expect to win games during this period." Garnett was spotted on a treadmill in the last few minutes of practice yesterday. Rivers said he had no timetable for his return. "He's moving a little better," Rivers said. "He's jogging now. Other than that, I just ask how he's doing." Allen, who is out for the remainder of the regular season after undergoing surgery on his left thumb Feb. 18, shot around with his wrist wrapped after practice yesterday. The lack of his perimeter defense was noticeable in the Celtics' 105-95 loss to Detroit Sunday, the team's second defeat in three games. Rivers said having all the players healthy would give him much-needed flexibility, but it's something he'll have to work around. "I would much rather have Kevin and Scal and Tony with this group - that way you could figure out better rotations coming for the playoffs," Rivers said. "Now it's just got to be guesswork." Paul Pierce said it's hard to pinpoint how long it would take for all the pieces to come together and hinted that it may not necessarily be before the playoffs. "When everybody gets healthy - whenever that may be - and when everybody's on the court together trying to jell together, who knows?" he said. "It could take one day, two days. It could take a playoff series. "But we're going to use the practice time that we get, especially down the stretch of the season, to help us out." --

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