WALTHAM – Already down Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe, the Celtics are dealing with two more health concerns to their front court.

Brian Scalabrine missed this morning’s shoot-around/practice in Waltham with flu-like symptoms and was told to stay home and get ready for tonight. Meanwhile, Kendrick Perkins did practice but is nursing a sore left shoulder. Perkins will start tonight and Rivers expects to have Scalabrine available off the bench.

“Perk’s shoulder’s pretty good,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Tuesday morning. “Obviously, it’s not 100 percent but it’s good enough to play. He’s doing alright. Scal’s not here. He’s got the flu. We’re hoping he can make it to the game tonight.”

Perkins said he would prefer holding off until the off-season before going in and intensively examining the shoulder, which has been chronically sore for the last two seasons. No MRI was ordered to look at the shoulder.

“He didn’t need it,” Rivers said. “They know what it is. He’s got shoulder problems. No need to look at it. They might find something. That’s why we didn’t do it. We didn’t want to find anything, smarter that way.”

If Scalabrine weren’t available, it would have serious and unpleasant ramifications.

“If Scal’s not available, it puts us in a bind, obviously,” Rivers said. “It would force us to go small, at times with Paul (Pierce) at the ’4′, and that’s absolutely not what we want to do. We would play Mikki (Moore) a little bit more, might even play Billy (Walker) some and Tony (Allen) at the four, clearly those are the things we don’t want to get to but if Scal is injured, someone else has to step up.”

WALTHAM – While the news on Kevin Garnett was gloomy on Thursday afternoon, there was one ray of hope as Celtics coach Doc Rivers said there’s a 50-50 chance Brian Scalabrine could return by Game 3 of the series with Chicago.

“Scal is a positive sign,” Rivers said. “He gets to do 2-on-2 (drills) and things like that today. He’s definitely out for the first two games. There’s a 50 percent chance that he can play by Game 3 but that’s if everything goes perfect.”

Scalabrine suffered a pair of concussions days apart in late February and hasn’t played since while recovering from post-concussion syndrome. He missed the final 24 games of the regular season.

Brian Scalabrine is getting stir crazy.

The Boston Celtics forward has been out of commission with post concussion syndrome since February 19. In an attempt to speed up his recovery, he pushed himself too far. Scalabrine is still suffering from lingering headaches in the morning and evening. However his doctors discourage him from taking Tylenol because the medication could mask his symptoms.

“I was going too hard. I was doing too many things,” he said prior to the Celtics game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. “I was trying to get back and you’re limited in what you can do. You can ride a bike, you can lift weights, but I was lifting weights really hard, riding the bike really hard. We’re not going to tone that down because they (headaches) could just go away and your body could get used to it. But more so April 1 will be the time that we’ll know from the doctors.”

In the meantime, he is itching to get back on the court. In addition to supporting his teammates, attending Celtics home games is a much needed escape.

“For me it’s about getting out of the house,” Scalabrine, a hunting enthusiast, laughed. “A man can only be home so long before he needs to go hunt and gather … I’ve got to do a lot more than the dishes if I stay home. We’re just not built that way … Men are not built to stay home and do stuff at home … We’re not good like that.”

Scalabrine keeps a journal three times a day to record his progress. He will meet with doctors on April 1.

There really isn’t one, except for maybe this. Doc Rivers said before the Celtics game with the Clippers that Tony Allen might be the closest to a return. But then he added that no one among the Allen, Brian Scalabrine, Leon Powe group is really that close to coming back. “None of them are playing any time soon,” Rivers said.

Of the three Doc is probably most concerned with Scalabrine as he has just now doing bike work. “Scal, that’s a tough one,” Rivers said. “He can’t run at all. He can’t do any conditioning. That might put him back further.”

The Boston Celtics have made winning without Kevin Garnett look easy. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers? Not a problem. Shaq and the Phoenix Suns? No sweat. Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets? Blowout. But then there is Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. That’s where the Celtics run into trouble.

The Celtics were 8-2 this season without Garnett (knee) heading into Sunday’s game. Last year they went 9-2 without him. The Cs have hardly missed a beat, except when playing the Magic. In spite of their success, they are 0-2 against the Magic without Garnett.

“They’re a tough team with or without KG,” Dwight Howard said after the Magic’s 86-79 win. (RECAP HERE) “So I think the biggest thing is just trying to match their play on both ends and be physical with them like they’re going to be physical with us. Also knowing that KG is one of their big guys on the defensive end, just go at them and just make them pay.”

The Celtics first loss to the Magic without Garnett (96-93) came on January 27, 2008. Unable to stop the Magic’s big men, Howard posted 18 points and 16 rebounds while Rashard Lewis scored 15 points. On Sunday, Howard posted 18 points and 15 rebounds with Lewis adding 15 points.

“[Garnett's] a good player and he plays hard,” said Hedo Turkoglu. “We just try to take advantage of it. Tonight we just tried to move the ball and make a lot of free throws and make the big men play. Rashard and Dwight took care of the mismatches.”

It isn’t just the absence of Garnett’s 16 points and nearly nine boards a game that helps the Magic. The void of his intensity and energy cannot be denied.

“He’s pretty much their heart and soul of the team,” Tony Battie said. “You can’t forget about (Kendrick) Perkins and Big Baby and (Leon) Powe. They do a great job of filling in for him but it’s hard to replace an All-Star in this league. Not only that, but just his presence and leadership on the court, it’s hard to make up for it. Physically those guys can fill the void but his presence is something they probably miss.”

Both teams were missing pieces on Sunday. The Celtics were also without Rajon Rondo (ankle), Tony Allen (thumb), and Brian Scalabrine (concussion). Glen Davis left the game with a sprained right ankle. The Magic were without Jameer Nelson (shoulder), who also missed last season’s win.

Regardless of their 2-0 record, the Magic still give the Celtics credit.

“All five guys, whoever steps on the floor, they’re all dangerous,” said Howard. “Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, those guys can light it up. Their bigs are getting better every day. Kendrick did a Kareem shake tonight. It shocked me, but that just shows me that those guys have really been working on their game and they’ve gotten a lot better.”

The Magic’s win brings them within two games of the Celtics for second place in the Eastern Conference. The teams will meet again on March 25 in Orlando.

Celtics forward Brian Scalabrine cannot participate in one-on-one drills until April 1, he said prior to Friday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the meantime he will do excercises that do not involve “bouncing,” including the stationary bike and stairclimber. Scalabrine, who was diagnosed with post concussion syndrome, has not suffered from blurred vision since Tuesday. (A plus considering he said he parked Eddie House’s car.) He has not played since February 19 against the Utah Jazz.

The Boston Celtics face the New Jersey Nets four times every regular season. Some members of the Celtics, however, are more familiar with this opponent than others. On Wednesday night, Eddie House, Stephon Marbury, and Mikki Moore returned to their old stomping grounds. (RECAP HERE) Not only do these players have ties to the Nets, they also had ties to the Celtics while playing in New Jersey.

Stephon Marbury: 1999-2001
Average with Nets: 23.0 points, 8.1 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 43.7 percent from the field

• 1998-99: Traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he played with Kevin Garnett, to the Nets in part of a three-team deal that included former Celtic Sam Cassell. It only takes Marbury 31 games to establish himself as the Nets second-highest scorer that season.
• 1999-2000: Leads the Nets in scoring (22.2 ppg) and assists (8.4 apg). Ranks 10th in the NBA in assists. Teammates with former Celtic Sherman Douglas.
• 2000-2001: Marbury earns first All-Star appearance and represents the Eastern Conference with Ray Allen. Leads Nets in scoring (23.9 ppg) and assists (7.6 apg) once again.

March 4, 2009: Marbury is greeted at the IZOD Center with boos heard all the way back in Boston. He gives the Celtics a reliable ball handler off the bench, allowing the starters to take a breather, and finishes with four assists and two rebounds. Marbury commits only one turnover.

Mikki Moore: 2003-2004, 2006-2007
Average with Nets: 9.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 60.9 percent from the field (2007 season only)

• 2003-04: Moore signs with the Nets as a free agent in December of 2003. After appearing in just four games, he is waived the following month. Moore scores two points during this stint. During this time he is teammates with Celtics forward — and current next door neighbor in the locker room — Brian Scalabrine. That season the Nets went on to defeat Marbury and the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.
• 2006-07: Moore is traded back to the Nets by the Seattle SuperSonics (where he played with Ray Allen) in exchange for future draft pick. After bouncing around the league for almost ten years, Moore has a breakout season (9.8 ppgs, 5.1 rpg). He also leads the league in field goal percentage (60.9 percent from the field). Moore is teammates with Eddie House.

March 4, 2009: Despite leaving the Nets for a big money contract with the Sacramento Kings, Moore is still welcome in New Jersey. He looks comfortable on the court at the IZOD Center, scoring six points in 12 minutes. The seven-foot Moore also spreads the Nets defense with his mid-range jumper.

Eddie House: 2006-2007
Average with Nets: 8.4 points, 42.8 from the field

• 2006-07: Signs as a free agent with the Nets in August of 2006. House is teammates with recently acquired Celtic Mikki Moore. He leads the Nets in three-point shooting (42.9 percent), ahead of Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, and ranks 10th in the league that season. The Nets lose in the second round of the playoffs to former Celtic Scot Pollard and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

March 4, 2009: House had been playing well against the Nets so far this season, averaging 11.5 points and shooting 60 percent from the field heading into Wednesday’s game. With Rajon Rondo in early foul trouble, he is the first one off the bench for the Celtics. House scores 10 points in 16 minutes, including 3-for-6 shooting from long-range. He also adds two rebounds and two steals.

(Brian Scalabrine played with the New Jersey Nets from 2001-2005. However he did not play on March 4 and is out for at least a month after suffering his third concussion.)