THERE ARE TWO versions of the Boston Celtics.
One is led by two under-25 All-Stars and carries the expectations of having reached the conference finals in three of the past four seasons. The other has eight players in their first or second year in the NBA, most of whom have been unable to earn a consistent spot in the team's rotation.
The divide between those two realities hints at why the Celtics enter tonight's showdown against the LA Clippers sitting at .500, in a morass of teams fighting for position in the back half of the East playoff picture.