Looking at the club overall, the coach added, “The biggest change besides obviously the three guys is that our bench is all veterans, too - well, not all, but you think about Scal and James Posey and Eddie House. They’re not going to look at the starting unit and kiss their butt. They’re going to play them, and they’re not going to back down.
“The scrimmages between that second unit and the first unit have been very close and very competitive - a lot of barking with each other. Before, when Paul said something, the young guys would back up. Well, they’re going nowhere now. Tony Allen’s on that group, and he’s a bulldog. Leon’s on that group. You’ve got five guys who look the starters in the eye and tell them to bring it on. And that’s nice.”
Said Tony Allen: “It’s pretty competitive. There’s a lot of pride out there. Guys want to get stops. Basically we’re all just trying to make each other better.”
Posey has done a good job of both establishing his own presence and giving Garnett and Pierce a hard go.
“He’s very competitive, very tough,” Garnett said. “He doesn’t just play defense. He knows how to defend. You know what I mean? Some people just defend because they hustle. He actually understands how to defend. It’s refreshing. It’s a good addition to this team.”

According to Allen, adaptation is the key to success in camp for veterans who may find that their role changes from year to year.
"You just have to be willing to do what the team needs from you that particular year. I think most people go into training camp with a preconceived idea of what they're to do based on what they did last year. I know what I can do, but with this team, I have to figure out what they need me to do now."

Pierce said that picking up offense is easy, but defense is the toughest thing to learn in the NBA. "Only the great teams are the top teams in defense, and those are the teams that win championships. That's what were focusing on," Pierce said. "We know we've got great offensive weapons, but if we can get our defense to be just as talented as our offense, and everybody has the will to want to do that, the sky's the limit for us."

"With Gabe being out, it just shows how thin we are at that position. Rajon is going to be fine, but what happens when he gets in foul trouble, or one of the other guys can't go?" Rivers asked rhetorically. He clarified that he's comfortable with the situation but he still realizes that any long-term injury could complicate things. "Tony and Eddie are getting better at it, but on purpose today we told Rajon to pick up whoever the point guard is, that way that guy would see pressure, and it affected them, no doubt about it. And that's what some teams are going to do [against us]."

Sobering fact: No team with three 20-point scorers has ever won it all. But all Boston has to do is get to the Finals to meet expectations, which (again) is very plausible now after the NBA's most spectacular offseason.

Boston Celtics — The new Big Three of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce shouldn't have any trouble playing together because they are unselfish veterans who understand that this could be their chance at a ring. The question, however, centers on point guard Rajon Rondo. Can he lead this team or will they have to go out and get a veteran point guard?