That sound that you don’t hear is that of confident Boston Celtics fans, amped-up and ready for the NBA playoffs and a title defense that Celtics Nation has been waiting 10 long months for. That’s because the unfortunate Green have their championship aspirations riding on the balky knee of Kevin Garnett.For Celtics fans looking for small glimmers of Garnett hope, I strongly advise you to turn off your televisions, shut down the radio, and ignore the sports page of your daily paper. The fact is, Garnett will need either offseason knee surgery, or at the very least a very extensive off-season rehabilitation program, neither of which will lend to the dominant and explosive Garnett that the Green relied on so heavily throughout last year’s playoffs.Reading between the lines, even head coach Doc Rivers doesn’t sound terribly confident when asked about the chance KG could miss the playoff opener this Saturday.”I don’t think there’s any chance of that,” Rivers said. “He left for Boston because you can get better treatment at home than here. I do think Kevin needs more time to get ready. If tonight was a big game, could he play? We don’t know.”Not exactly the news Celtics fans have been waiting for.However, not all the news is bad; as with everything, there is a silver lining. The argument can be made that heading into this year’s playoffs, the Celtics are actually a deeper team than they were last year. Headlined by the emergence of Glen Davis and Leon Powe, and the improved play of Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins, the Green’s offensive arsenal was given yet another weapon with the late-season addition of the quickly-improving Stephon Marbury. Captain Paul Pierce thinks that despite the injuries, his team will be ready to defend its championship.”We don’t mind flying under the radar,” Pierce said. “When you win a championship, you acquire a certain swagger, a certain confidence that you can beat anybody regardless of who you have on the court.”One player whose role is still being defined is Marbury. Marbury, who missed the entire season, is starting to show flashes of the All-Star that he once was. More importantly, Marbury, who came to Boston with a bad reputation, has been a model citizen and has showered the Celtics organization with praise.”It’s been the greatest experience I’ve ever had, playing with a group of guys, everyone with one thing in mind: winning a championship,” he said.When asked about his chances of winning a ring with the Celtics this year, Marbury said, “They’re still the champs, they know the formula. I’m learning it.”Unfortunately for Marbury and the rest of the Green, the main ingredient in the winning formula has missed 21 of his last 25 games.