24-2, 16 wins in a row, tops in defensive field goal percentage (41 percent). Crown ‘em? Sure.

James Posey? Who needs that guy! Younger, more athletic Tony Allen is a 6th man clone, minus the three-point shooting.

Lakers winning 70? Ha. If you believe what’s been written, the Lakers are a defensive mess (opponents shooting a whopping 43 percent), and are loafing through games. They’re 21-3. Christmas afternoon, Boston visits the Lakers in a game that Phil Jackson’s already talking down.

Boston’s the best. Indiana has played them tough two out of three times, even winning one. But it’s not like the Pacers are sneaking into the playoffs. Boston’s already beat the team with the 2nd best record in the East, Cleveland, (opening night, by five). The C’s other loss was to Denver, a fluky fourth quarter failure when old friend Chauncey Billups took over. But he’s out West.

Behind the stats and the wins … minutes lagged by the old men, which will be the most important Boston number this season (well, second after home court advantage). Pierce is averaging 37 minutes per game, up from 35 last season. Allen is playing the same 35 a night, and KG’s minutes are up one to 33 a night. Neither played in Beijing like LeBron and Dwight Howard … but those guys are also spry and in their early 20s. Unless Rivers eases up on the PT, eventually, they will tire. Maybe down the stretch, or maybe in the playoffs.

Enjoy it now. We’ll stick with our preseason pick of Cleveland coming out of the East. It’s definitely too early to get too excited about playoff pairings, but after a first rounder against Philly, New Jersey or Chicago, Boston might face pesky Detroit or Atlanta in round two before the Conference finals, possibly against Cleveland.