BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics tip off their 60th season tonight against the New York Knicks with a young roster and numerous questions about how things will play out over the course of their 82-game schedule.

Asked yesterday to name the things he's most worried about heading into the regular season, and also the things he isn't worried about, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said yesterday there wasn't really anything he wasn't worried about -- but added that he knows Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis will play well.

That's not such great news for the defending Atlantic Division champions, who have been tabbed by more than a few NBA observers as the 11th- or 12th-best team in the 15-team Eastern Conference.

Here are some pluses and minuses -- and a couple of things that could go either way -- as Boston's season gets underway:

Pluses PIERCE. His character issues aside, the eighth-year forward remains one of the most dangerous players in the NBA. He has career averages of 23 points and 6.5 rebounds and is coming off a season in which he shot a career-best 45.5 percent from the field. Rivers has praised the team captain since training camp began, saying Pierce has been a great leader and shown a great attitude. Pierce had problems last year as the face of the franchise, but claims he's more mature now and can handle being the one who hears the questions when the team loses. If he can keep that up for the next six months, that will be great for the team.

DAVIS. The Celtics still feel their shooting guard was robbed of the league's Sixth Man Award last season because of his reputation, but this year Davis might be even more important to Boston's success. Rivers plans to have Davis start, but then take a break earlier than the rest of the starters, with the intention of having the 6-foot-7 sparkplug be the focal point of the second unit. That way, the team has Davis' energy at the outset of games and has his offense when it's time for Pierce to get a breather. Now in his third season with the Celtics, Davis also apparently is reformed, and the team's marketing department is using him in ad campaigns and other publicity opportunities.

SPEED. Director of basketball operations Danny Ainge has built this team on speed, and Boston is good in the transition game. But fast breaks generally come off rebounds, and that is not an area of strength for this club.

Neutral POINT GUARD. Rivers confirmed yesterday that second-year player Delonte West will start at the point tonight, with rookie Orien Greene as his backup. That leaves free agent signee Dan Dickau as the third option to run the offense, clearly not good news for Dickau. Defensively, West is a "kamikaze," as Rivers says, and has shown that he can run the plays. But he played four years of shooting guard at St. Joe's, so he's still learning the position, and the team has concerns about him being injury-prone after West twice broke his right hand last season. Despite being the 53rd pick in the draft, don't be surprised if Greene is starting by the end of the season. He's a standout defensively, especially for a rookie, has great vision in the open court and is a pure point guard, with the added advantage of being 6-foot-4. West then could move back to the two-guard, with Davis and Pierce on the floor together if Rivers wants to go small.

THE SCHEDULE. Eleven of the team's first 15 games are at TD Banknorth Garden, which hopefully will allow it to get off to a solid start before the December schedule sets in and the young team is on the road for 10 of 15 games. Rivers, however, implied that it might be a negative for Boston to be at home so much early, seemingly preferring to deal with some of the Celtics' warts away from home.

AL JEFFERSON. The Celtics have tabbed the second-year forward as a future superstar, and Jefferson started to show why toward the end of last season and in the playoffs. But since spraining his right ankle on the first day of training camp, he's fallen behind in his conditioning and still isn't 100 percent. If he can get healthy quickly, he obviously has a much better chance of getting back on the path to stardom.

Minuses PIERCE. His character issues are a concern, his current harmony with Rivers may not last, and he may not deal with things well if Boston gets off to a bad start. Remember, just a few months ago he got ejected from a crucial playoff game, removed his jersey and waved it over his head as he left the court, and then appeared at the postgame press conference with bandages wrapped around his head. That kind of behavior doesn't just disappear overnight.

YOUTH. Rivers said on the first day of training camp: "We're young. So what?" But despite his and Ainge's assertions, it's no small thing. Yes, young players bring a lot of energy. They also generally are defensive liabilities, respond to things emotionally and still are learning the nuances of the pro game. There's also the temptations that come with being young and wealthy and on your own for the first time, especially for the players who skipped college.

REBOUNDING. That is to say, where will it come from? A further slimmed-down Kendrick Perkins can be a force on the glass -- when he's in the game. Rivers has praised the big man, but still is concerned that he'll let his emotions get the best of him and commit dumb fouls. If Mark Blount returns to his 2003-04 form, when he pulled down 7.2 boards per game, this isn't as much of a concern; last year, a struggling -- and then sulking -- Blount had only 4.8 rebounds a night. As a team, Boston averaged 40.8 rebounds, 24th in the league.

TURNOVERS. Playing a run-and-gun style lends itself to losing the ball on occasion, but Boston was near the top of the league in turnovers last season, with 15.8 per game. Pierce (2.8 a game), Davis (2.5), Blount and the now-departed Gary Payton (1.9 each) were the biggest culprits.

Jefferson said yesterday after practice that his expectations for this team are to win, and Pierce said the team is determined to successfully defend its division title. The learning curve, however, will be steep.