wallace

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers’ deep frontcourt may be a bit thinner tonight for Game Three of the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Celtics.

Cavaliers forward Ben Wallace has a viral inner-ear infection and a bout with allergies that has him listed as doubtful for the game. Wallace missed practice yesterday and went through a battery of tests at the Cleveland Clinic, where the infection was diagnosed.

Cavaliers’ coach Mike Brown said that fourth-year pro Anderson Varajao of Brazil will start in Wallace’s position.

“If he [Wallace] can go, he’ll go. If he can’t, somebody else has to step in his spot and play good minutes for him,” Brown said.

Wallace started Game Two on Thursday but almost instantly wasn’t himself. He said after the game that he was bothered by the heavy pollen in the Boston area and also complained about the smoke that lingers over the court at TD Banknorth Garden after the introduction of the starting lineups. Wallace was dizzy and left the game with 8:20 remaining in the first quarter. He hoped to return but apparently never felt up to it.

Wallace is a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year with the Pistons who left that team as a free-agent signee with the Chicago Bulls for the 2006-07 season. Wallace was traded to Cleveland on Feb. 21 and averaged 4.2 points and 7.4 rebounds with the Cavs.

If he’s out of the rotation, Brown’s bench is substantially reduced. The only big man with experience coming off the bench will be veteran forward Joe Smith, who has struggled with Boston’s big men in the series. Dwayne Jones, a former Celtic reserve, could see some time in Wallace’s absence.

Road wins important for C’s

The Celtics know they have a lot to prove over the next two games at Quicken Loans Arena. After losing three times in Atlanta in the first round, the Celtics need to win on the road under the glare of the playoff pressure to show themselves, if not the rest of the NBA, that they are a championship contender.

“You just can’t lose your focus, that’s all,” said Ray Allen. “Playing on the road in a difficult environment is a challenge, but we learned from the Atlanta series that we need the same focus every game.”

Doc Rivers certainly expects more Cavalier players to show up at home. That’s what happens in the NBA and in college basketball as well.

“Cleveland is probably a better team [than they’ve showed]. Their record says that,” said Rivers. “They were Eastern Conference champions last year. It’s not going to be easy and we know that. It’s not going to be easy on the road so we just have to come in with the same mindset and play our game.”

Cassell seeing some minutes

Not surprisingly, Sam Cassell has played a larger role with each passing week of the playoffs. This is the time of year that Danny Ainge was thinking about when he traded for Cassell late in the season, and Cassell has played well. Cassell has averaged 7 points in the playoffs and 11 in this series. He played most of the fourth quarter in Game One and saw more minutes than point-guard starter Rajon Rondo (25 to 22) in Game Two.

“He struggled in the first quarter, he really did,” Rivers said of Rondo’s Game Two play. “What we tell Rajon is that the offense is what comes, but your defense has to be phenomenal every night. I thought he started out flat defensively and that can never happen with him.”

kmcnamar@projo.com