WALTHAM -- On Wednesday night when the Mavericks make their only visit to Boston, it will be a matchup not of two heavyweights but of two .500 teams who are trying to remain relevant while planning major changes for the future.

Like the Celtics, the Mavericks are keeping their options open for next summer. Gone are Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler and J.J. Barea and in are veteran players on one-year or unguaranteed contracts: Vince Carter, Delonte West and Lamar Odom. Veterans Jason Terry and Jason Kidd also will be unrestricted free agents, and the opportunity is there to create a whole new team around Dirk Nowitzki.

Like the Celtics, the Mavs got off to a terrible start but have recovered and evened their record with a blowout win over the Pistons on Tuesday. But below the surface, Dallas has struggled both offensively and defensively.

On the one hand, the Celtics said that you can’t judge the Mavericks on their 5-5 record.

“They made a lot of changes, so what’s different is they don’t have the same rhythm they had at the end of last season,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “And that’s not surprising.”  

“They’re probably one of the deepest teams in the league talent-wise, so you can’t look at their record and say that’s who they are,” Paul Pierce said. “They have championship experience with a lot of the guys on the roster and they have a lot of veteran guys who can get the job done, so they’re a lot better than what their record really shows.”

On the other hand, feel free to judge the Celtics’ record harshly.

“We know where we’re at,” Pierce said. “We’re 4-4 and that shows that we’re just a .500 team and we’ve been inconsistent. So that’s where we are until we get better.”

Like all .500 teams, there have been a lot of could’ve, should’ve, would’ve with the Celtics this season. If they had received a call or two against the Knicks, or if Pierce had been healthy for the first three games, or if the captain didn’t shoot 3-for-17 in Friday’s loss to the Pacers … the coach doesn’t want to hear it.

“That’s where we have to get this team to stop thinking about, well, ‘if Paul,’ ” Rivers said. “He did. And we lost. That’s not a good enough reason for me.”

For his part, Pierce said he has already put Friday night’s debacle behind him. After missing almost all of training camp with a bone bruise in his heel, Pierce is working his way back into shape and trying to develop his rhythm. The last two days have been like training camp for Pierce, who said he was the good kind of sore.

“It was good for me,” he said. “It was good for all of us actually.”

They all agree on one specific point. They’re not tough enough yet, which is something Rivers has reinforced over the last two days of practice. He’s shown them film of all the physical plays Indiana made – and the ones his own team didn’t -- and he ran them into the ground during Monday’s practice.

“We have to be a more physical team,” Pierce said. “We play physical in spurts. It’s something we have to do constantly. We have to definitely be a better rebounding team. That has to come from not only our bigs, it has to come from our point guard, or [wings]. It has to be a combination of the five guys that’s going to create the toughness that we need out there. It can’t be just one guy that you say, go out there and be a tough guy. It has to come from all of us.”

What it comes down to is this: Through eight games the Celtics are searching for their identity.

Their defense, long their trademark, has been tested like never before. Per Synergy Sports, they rank 27th in pick-and-roll and post-up situations and are dead last defending transition and second chances from offensive rebounds.

On offense, the Celtics are a jump-shooting team that relies heavily on Rajon Rondo to attack the basket and create space. Between his shots and assists, Rondo is responsible for almost half the team’s shots at the rim, but it’s not enough for a team that ranks 26th in attempts at the basket, per HoopData.

The bench is its own riddle. With essentially 10 new reserves, including Mickael Pietrus who is set to make his debut on Wednesday, the C's have been searching for ways to score and Rivers has been looking for the right combinations to put on the floor. With the exception of Brandon Bass, who has been terrific, and a handful of flashes from players like Avery Bradley and Greg Stiemsma, the bench has been less a unit and more a collection of guys running up and down the floor.

No excuses, the Celtics have said. Every team in the league is in the same position, trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t on the fly. They’re not worried about playing the defending champs or the Bulls on Friday. They’re more concerned with fixing their own issues.

“I don’t care who we play, to be honest,” Rivers said. “We’re really just focused on us. We have to become a better basketball team.”

Until they do, they’re just another .500 team looking for answers.