C's Now Have as Many Wins as All Last Season

12/29/2007

SALT LAKE CITY - The number 24 has become a figure that is simply too bizarre for most Celtics to digest.

Or to wrap their minds around.

At 24-3, they have as many wins as they did all of last season.

For a newcomer like Glen Davis, the concept is inconceivable.

``They only had that many last year?'' said the Celtics rookie.

For Doc Rivers, though, the number is further proof of just how horrible the 2006-07 Celtics actually were.

This is not the kind of confirmation a coach likes to hear.

``That means that we were really bad last year,'' Rivers said. ``To me that's a reminder of how bad we were, and that's all. That is amazing, though.''

Paul Pierce looked at the more encouraging side of that number.

``It shows how far we've come to this point,'' he said. ``But there's still a long way to go.''

No longer feels like home

Thursday's game started out on a heartwarming note for Ray Allen, with his old Seattle team honoring him in a pregame ceremony that included a reading of the many charities he headed and contributed to as a Sonic.

The floor was a different story. He finished with 10 points, shot only 4-for-13, and never really left the launching pad against his former teammates.

``This stirred up a lot of memories, because I've had a lot of big games in this building,'' he said. ``But everything I got was tough.

``There were a couple of open looks, but Damien (Wilkins) did a great job of staying up in my body. They know what I do and they tried to take it away from me.''

Rivers wasn't worried.

``Oh, this is maybe what you get one in 40 games from him,'' he said. ``They did a good job defending him.''