After watching Tony Allen, Glen Davis and now Rondo come down with the illness, Rivers believes he better understands the source.

“There are no other card games,” said Rivers. “It’s the card group that is sick, which tells us they have to keep the gloves on from now on. I don’t know what they play, but whatever it is, it hasn’t been healthy for them.”

That card game may not have been healthy, but it sure spurned greatness out of the trio last night. Allen had his finest game as a Celtic, putting the clamps on Dwyane Wade and playing smart, efficient offense (bizarro world, I know). Davis’s energy was contagious, and he offset his normal barrage of shots blocked with countless boards and undying hustle. Davis might have even had a little too much fun last night. And Rondo was the quarterback. He didn’t score much, but he didn’t need to. He came within three rebounds of a 10, 10, 10 triple-double. The sick players led the C’s to victory.

So, um, Doc? That card game, the one that you want to be played using gloves? Methinks you should just let it be. If anything, make it mandatory that everyone plays in it.

From the looks of it, at least as far as the Celtics have shown, the flu is a beautiful thing.