By Mike

With the end of the much rumored Allen Iverson auction the Celtics enter Wednesday night’s game with the Warriors riding the wave of a five game winning streak. Today we’ll take a look at five of the key figures during the streak, one for each of the wins thus far.

1. Al Jefferson. Any way you slice it, Al Jefferson is the big story in the recent surge. Forced into duty at center due to the injuries to the three tallest players on the roster, Al has shown that his quick footwork and uncanny shooting touch around the rim can make up for his lack of size. It is truly a breath of fresh air to watch the Celtics with the consistent inside scoring threat that Jefferson provides. His recent success is all the more impressive when you realize that Al is taking the ball into the teeth of the other team’s shotblockers with just a few bread and butter moves centered around his half hook and his step-through move, and that his next shot with his left hand may well be his first.

Al has also shown some ability on the defensive end as a weakside shot blocker and defensive rebounder. He may too light to body up the bigger centers like Eddy Curry, but his production in the middle will create some interesting playing time decisions if and when the Celtics corps of big men is back to full strength.

2. Tony Allen. After Allen’s efforts early this season many observers, including me, thought he had completely lost his way from the eye opening play of his rookie year. It was as though the brief experiment at making Allen an emergency point guard had erased the parts of his brain that controlled his wing player instincts. Around Thanksgiving it seemed inevitable that Allen would be benched or traded after his struggles early on. But when the injuries mounted Allen got a second chance, and he has made the most of it. Early in the season you could set a clock by Allen’s inexplicable dribbling fits and predictable charging calls. But over the past two weeks Allen has returned to being the slashing offensive player and the hard nosed defensive player that the team sorely lacks. His 48 minute effort against Denver last week was especially impressive on both ends of the floor.

From the outside Allen’s recent success appears directly related to his confidence that he will be playing consistent minutes no matter how his first 5 minutes on the floor goes. Doc Rivers has made noises about keeping Allen in the starting lineup even when Wally Szczerbiak gets back to full strength, as the FCP had argued for earlier in the year. Here’s hoping he gets that shot. The starting unit’s balance as well as the second unit’s offensive attack would be much improved by making Wally the permanent sixth man.

3. Brian Scalabrine. OK, media, we get it. The pasty redhead with the doughy physique has a game that doesn’t rely on athleticism or showy things like scoring or rebounding. Message received. We promise to point out the booers to security the next time they get on him for dribbling twice. Now can you please stop with the articles and quotes about how his intangibles are incredibly valuable? I liked it better when intangibles were seen and not heard about, especially when it’s Doc Rivers trying to explain that Scalabrine’s “basketball IQ is so high it gets him in trouble sometimes.” So smart he’s dumb. Got it, Doc.

It’s true that Scalabrine has brought a certain headiness to the floor, but the real contribution has been his shooting during the road games, which has opened up the floor for the vastly undersized second unit. With the return of the big men I will still lament his minutes if they come at the expense of more promising players, but a few more wins may change even that.

4. Ryan Gomes. I freely admit I am a Ryan Gomes fan, but even I thought that the team was in trouble with Jefferson and Gomes manning the interior spots. I am happy to have been dead wrong. Gomes and Jefferson have shown that their skills complement each other on the offensive end with Gomes’ growing shooting range keeping the middle open for Al’s low post work. On defense their mobility and their growing experience have made it more difficult for teams to be able to bludgeon them with size. Their combined knack for rebounding, especially on the defensive glass, has been a key as well.

Up until his injury Gomes had been one of the few constants during this up and down year. Once Kendrick Perkins comes back a possible rotation of Gomes, Al and Perk at the big man slots holds a lot of promise for this team as it develops its identity.

5. Mike Gorman. Gorman always does a solid job, but of late he seems to be stepping up his game at the same time the Celtics are. With the amount of complaining I do about the sorry state of sports announcing today, it’s only right that credit is given when it is due. Those of us watching the team on League Pass are stuck with the seemingly random selection of which team’s feed will be broadcast, and lately it has been a big disappointment when we are subjected to the other team’s announcers. That is a credit to Gorman’s work. Now if he would find a way to knock some sense into the person who thinks that the mini-me Heinsohn graphic is a good idea, Gorman would make the top of the next top 5 list, no question.

Added kudos have to go to Doc Rivers, who has done a pretty good job of playing to the strengths of the available players during this recent streak. Over the past three years this same pattern has played itself out several times, usually after a trade combines with injuries to thin the bench and force the team to establish bigger roles for fewer players. It will be worth watching to see what happens as the wounded return to active duty. Perhaps Danny Ainge will put on his trader hat to make sure that Doc does not go back to his earlier, more scattered rotations. In the meantime it is an optimistic holiday season for the men in green.

Seemingly out of nowhere, your Boston Celtics have suddenly won five games in a row. With a pair of home games this week, they have the opportunity to head out on next week’s west coast road trip on an extended winning streak. How has Doc Rivers’ crew been able to turn things around so quickly? Can they keep it up? Those are the questions we’ll try to answer today.

The biggest factor in the improvement of the Celtics has been the improved play of Al Jefferson and Tony Allen, each of whom has really stepped up their games in the last two weeks. What triggered this?

Ironically it may have been adversity that has brought out the best in these two young Celtics. The team has been beset by a number of injuries, forcing them to have to play long minutes. However, the fact that they’re being relied on might be a boost to their confidence. They can go out and play, knowing that they do not have to keep looking over their shoulder, wondering if they’re going to be yanked after making a mistake.

With injuries to all three centers on the Celtics roster, Al Jefferson has been forced to become the main man at that position. He has responded splendidly, holding his own against bigger and beefier foes on the glass, picking up double-digit rebounds in a number of games. He has also been able to be aggressive on offense, taking the ball to the opposing center without fear. He has been able to use his assortment of low post moves effectively, putting together a few 20-10 games in this stretch. His teammates have been able to get him the ball in the post, and Jefferson has even been able to respond well to double-teams, handling the pressure just fine. Jefferson still has a ways to go on defense, but he still picks up his share of blocked shots, seeming to get at least a couple in each game since he became a starter.

Tony Allen has also taken advantage of an opportunity resulting from injuries, specifically the ones that have sidelined Wally Szczerbiak in recent weeks. With Szczerbiak out, Allen has picked up the minutes and has responded, showing the slashing, athletic style that he displayed flashes of during his rookie season. The game against Denver last Friday night was the Apex of Allen’s three year career, as Allen went the full 48 minutes and scored 30 points while guarding the league’s top scorer, Carmelo Anthony. Allen made several key plays in that game, coming up with a key steal down the stretch, and energizing the crowd with a few spectacular dunks.

To a lesser extent, Gerald Green has also taken a step forward in recent weeks, as Rivers has said several times that the second year player has earned the opportunity to play more minutes. We haven’t seen quite as a dramatic upswing from Green as we have from the above two, but he has still become a bigger contributor and has been on the floor and scored during key stretches of games. His development still has a way to go, but it is encouraging to see him on the floor more.

In addition to the injuries, there may have been another trigger for the improved play: the possibility of a trade. The Celtics were a well known suitor for Allen Iverson in the off season, and when the 76ers star recently expressed a wish to be traded, the Celtics were naturally brought up as a possible destination. Jefferson, Allen and Green are three names that were immediately brought up as possible pieces in a deal. Jefferson admitted that the possibility of a trade really shook him and motivated him.

This week’s schedule has a pair of games on tap at the Garden. On Wednesday night the Celtics will host the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have been hovering around the .500 mark thus far, but have struggled mightily on the road, as of this writing, they were just 1-8 on the season. They are a deep team, with seven players averaging double figures, led by Baron Davis, who is scoring 20.4 points per game on the season. Second year guard Monta Ellis has been a surprise for the club, the 6-3 Ellis is averaging 17.8 points per game.

Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers will be in town - with or without Allen Iverson. You would think that the team would’ve shipped off the disgruntled star prior to then, but Sixers GM Bill King appears to be taking his time with any deal. The Celtics handled the Sixers fairly easily in their last meeting as part of the current winning streak, the Philadelphia might be in for a bit of revenge, but their team could be totally different by the time that they take the floor on Friday night.

Based on what we’ve seen the last five games, I’m hoping the Celtics are looking the same as they are now.