It's now the fourth year of their regime, and that 17th banner was raised to the rafters after year one. Although point guard Rajon Rondo has transformed the Big Three into the Big Four, there's little doubt the veterans are playing on borrowed time.
With 2011-12 the final year for Garnett and Allen's contracts, anything short of an 18th championship would be considered a failure. Already, however, injuries are taking their toll. The condensed preseason has left Rondo, Garnett and Pierce with minor injuries, and although the discovery of a heart ailment may have saved Jeff Green's life, the news that he will be out for the season robs the Celtics of their top bench player.
The Celtics will rely on a number of old faces — old as in "familiar," but old as in "aged" or "rickety" could apply as well, in some cases. Center Jermaine O'Neal has 886 career NBA games on his 33-year-old legs, and Marquis Daniels is back after being limited to no more than 51 games in each of the past two years. Sasha Pavlovic joined the C's late last season and contributed little, but the hope is that more familiarity will increase his production.
The Celtics open their two-game preseason on Sunday in Toronto with many concerns. But this team is built for the regular season and playoffs, not the preseason, and the veteran legs hope to save some of the bounce in their steps for June.
