If there's a myth out there suggesting the Celtics are playoff-tested, it only persists because of a prominent minority.
BOSTON -- Paul Pierce wants his younger teammates to remember LeBron James coming after them, the crowd loud and desperate, the lights shining a little brighter for a nationally televised game.
As one of the few Boston Celtics with championship experience, Pierce considers it his responsibility to coax younger, greener teammates to perform at a playoff level. Because of that goal, the forward will remind his mates of the last time they met the Miami Heat.
"If you have to point out one game, the type of atmosphere it’s going to be, the type of intensity it’s going to be, you’d have to look at that game and say this is just a sample of how the playoffs are," Pierce said, referring to a contest the Celtics lost 105-103, coughing up a 17-point first-half lead despite 43 points from Jeff Green. "(The playoffs will bring) a little more intense an environment, but that’s the closest you’re going to get for the new guys who have been here for a month or so.”
If there's a myth out there suggesting the Celtics are playoff-tested, it only persists because of a prominent minority. Sure, Boston leans on a layer of veteran leadership that can't be dismissed. Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry and coach Doc Rivers have all contributed largely to championships. They will lead the way. Yet outside of them, playoff experience is scant in the Celtics locker room.
Excluding Pierce, Terry and Rajon Rondo, by my count, Kevin Garnett has played 29 more playoff games than the rest of the Celtics roster combined. Chris Wilcox, Jordan Crawford and Terrence Williams have never appeared in a postseason contest. Shavlik Randolph has played all of four playoff minutes. Lee started in the NBA Finals as a rookie and hasn't advanced out of the regular season since. Avery Bradley's one playoff run was cut short because his shoulders wouldn't stop popping out of their sockets. Jeff Green got his feet wet in the playoffs a couple times, including with the Celtics in 2011, but this year's crew largely hasn't dealt with playoff pressure.
Asked Thursday where he can help the Celtics most come playoff time, Williams replied: "I don't know, to be honest. I've never been in the postseason."
Rivers isn't focusing on steeling his newbies for the playoffs right now because he's too busy teaching the basics. He called recent shootarounds and practices almost like training camp, saying the workouts can get "probably quite boring" for the veterans. Before the Celtics can solve equations at Will Hunting's level, they need to learn addition and subtraction.
"A lot of the new guys don't know some of the sets. They don't know a lot of the rotations defensively," Rivers admitted.
The coach still hasn't decided on a set playoff rotation, largely because he doesn't yet know what to expect.
"We'll see," he said. "We tell them every day, it's who we feel that we can trust out there, that's not going to turn the ball over, that's going to get back on defense, that's not going to lose their composure in the middle of a game. And we'll find that out."
For the Celtics, this is a process to regain the same identity they've held for years. As Pierce put it, "We know who we’re supposed to be."
"We’re a defensive-minded team who likes to run, who can push the ball up," he said. "We have several offensive players who can really get the job done with Jeff Green coming into his own now as a guy who’s a threat late in games. We have veteran leadership out there with myself, Kevin, Jason Terry, who’s won a championship. We have a good mix of young guys and a good mix of guys with the know-how."
With the playoffs approaching, it's important to note that the Celtics will never miss Rondo as much as now. So many times he was the spark when the Celtics' offense stagnated. As frustrating as his regular-season lapses in effort could be, they stopped once the postseason arrived. He was Boston's biggest competitive advantage against the Heat and a danger to every other team. The Celtics won't replace all that he provided, but they have to find new ways to prevail.
Rivers is already searching for them. He said Thursday that he plans to turn to a starting five featuring Green and Pierce at the two and three (or at the three and two, whichever order you prefer). As the coach put it, the Celtics will basically be playing one shooting guard, two small forwards and two power forwards. Green has earned his promotion, but the lineup is also Rivers' way of searching for another advantage, his attempt to force a mismatch. Green and Pierce might have trouble defending quicker guards, but Rivers is betting other teams will have more difficulty with Boston's size.
The hope is that Green can continue his efficient, explosive scoring into the postseason.
“He’s going to be the X-factor for us," Pierce said. "There’s going to be close games as there always is come playoff time, and a lot of teams are going to be keying in on me because I’ve done it so many times over the years. And it’s great we have a player that’s gaining that type of confidence at this stage in his career, at this time of the year, who can be a threat in those situations also.”
Green has been great, but he's still new to his role. So are many other Celtics. To complicate matters further, Boston will have to win away from the TD Garden. That prospect didn't bother the Celtics in years past, but Rivers understands circumstances have changed.
"In the past, veteran teams, you would have no problem with being on the road," he said. "This group, it's different. And I honestly can't tell you how we're going to play."
There will be times in the playoffs, because of foul trouble or whatever else, when Rivers will look down the bench and have to choose from a collection of the unproven. Terry will tell other Celtics to be ready, sharing the story of a teammate from the 2011 Dallas Mavericks championship run.
"NBA Finals, two years ago, Brian Cardinal hadn’t played in two months. Coach (Rick) Carlisle threw him in there," Terry explained. "He got a charge, scored a 3-pointer. He was just ready, and every man has to be ready.”
With Pierce and Garnett as cornerstones, the Celtics have never lost in the first round. In their five full years together, Boston has won one championship and reached one other NBA Finals series. Over that time, Boston has developed a reputation of being tougher to get rid of than a stage five clinger. Rivers knows he can rely on his two veterans, assuming they're both healthy.
"But they're going to need help," he said. "Jeff's going to have to be great. Avery's going to have to be great. JET's going to have to be great. We do have good pieces but I tell them I'm worried about our depth.
"Who else can step up for us? We're going into the playoffs this year with a new team, a team that hasn't been in the playoffs together."