Clark Kent Steps Out of Booth

11/3/2011

In the nearly six months since, the Celtics have done more than just change their roster. They've completely changed their identity. In less time than it takes Clark Kent to pop in and out of a phone booth, Ainge dispatched a collection of young, promising players for Garnett and Ray Allen. And just like that, the Celtics went from hopefuls to handfuls, a team that many are picking to win the Eastern Conference.

``It's time to turn those (bad) days around,'' Celtics holdover Paul Pierce announced to a supercharged, sellout crowd before the opening tip.

Ainge, meanwhile, was nothing if not cool, though that should hardly come as a surprise. Ever since taking control, he's hoped to tear the Celtics down from relative mediocrity in hopes of building something bigger.

More than anyone currently associated with this team, of course, Ainge knows what it is to be a Celtic, to play at the Garden at a time when Boston is a basketball town. And so maybe that is why Ainge insisted that last night was no different than any other opener in his career.

``Obviously, we have different goals this year than we've had,'' Ainge said. ``But as long as I've been playing sports, any sport, there's always some sort of anticipation that comes with opening night.''

As for the anticipation of many of those around him?

``I sense a lot more (from fans),'' Ainge said. ``The fact that they even know we have a game (is new).''

Maybe that's what it is.

In Boston last night, basketball felt new again.

With 2:30 left on the night that basketball returned to Boston, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett walked off the floor, arm in arm, the journey having just begun and yet the mission, in some ways, having already been accomplished.

``Obviously we've raised the hopes, not only for us, but for the fans,'' coach Doc Rivers said at TD Banknorth Garden, where the rebuilt, restored and reborn Celtics opened the season with a 103-83 victory over Washington. ``Last year, I think there was really a nice love affair with our players and the fans, and they were looking toward the future. Now, they're looking at this team and they're looking at the now. Hope is a great thing.'' And so today, on the second day of the 2007-08 Celtics season, this is what hope looks like: 28 points from Pierce, 22 points and 20 rebounds from Garnett, 17 more points from Ray Allen. Combined, the nucleus of the new and improved Celtics scored 67 points on 24-of-46 shooting from the field (52.2 percent) and 14-of-16 from the line (87.5). They had 29 rebounds, 11 assists, four blocks and three steals, and all of it was accomplished with a singular objective:

One golden ring.

``This place felt like a playoff game, man,'' said a supercharged Garnett, whose first shot of the night struck the backboard with the subtlety of a cinder block. ``Paul told me and I got a little bit of it in the preseason, but that was nothing like (last night). This place was rockin', man.''

Of course, a championship may be far too much to ask at this point, if only for the fact that, not so long ago, the Celtics looked like the gang that couldn't shoot straight. Now they have Garnett, Pierce and Allen, three veteran players who seem committed to the team cause, to restoring the Celtics to what was once their rightful place, to making Boston the kind of place that invites in opposing teams and then swallows them whole.

Pierce, especially, must be pinching himself today. In this game, ironically enough, the truth is that Pierce effectively won the game with Garnett and Allen on the bench, pumping in 15 points during a second quarter in which the Celtics outscored the Wizards, 37-18.

And though Pierce ended up without an official steal, he had at least two deflections that directly resulted in Wizards turnovers.

``I'm in a place right now in my career - I couldn't ask for anything better,'' Pierce beamed. ``I'm in my 10th year and I'm going to finish my career as a Boston Celtic.''

The question is whether Pierce will finish it as a winner, something that will depend on just how much he, Garnett and Allen blend with one another. Last night, while Garnett was finishing with three blocks and five assists to go along with the 22 points and 20 rebounds, Allen went 5-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-5 from 3-point distance, and played 38 minutes with no turnovers.

All of this brings us back to the ultimate makeover the Celtics have undergone in the last six months, a period during which they have traveled (at warp speed) from youthful promise to unfulfilled hunger. Between them, Pierce, Garnett and Allen have never won a championship. Relatively speaking, their window of opportunity is small. But until now, not a single one of them has ever had teammates like the other two, which means they are excited about this possibility, as most everyone else is.

Late last night, as he stood in front of his locker after his Celtics debut, Allen was wearing a black suit with a black shirt and an electric green tie. Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge also arrived at the Garden last night wearing a similarly shaded tie that seemed downright neon, and so the prevailing message was impossible to overlook:

This was a night to celebrate the rediscovered power of green.

``We thought we played OK - not our best,'' said Garnett. ``We've still got some work, man. This is (a) work in progress. This is about the journey. We keep talking about that.''

But one game in, arm in arm and hand in hand, they already seem to have come so far.