<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> <span class="articleBegin">T</span>he world dialed in to say hello to Paul Pierce<font color="#888888"> [stats]</font> yesterday, and the Celtics<font color="#888888"> [team stats]</font> captain was asked on his international conference call to put his team in a global context.</p> An enormous difference was evident.</p> “This is the first year I’ve come in with expectations put on us,” he said. “In all my nine years in the league, not much has been expected of us.”</p> All he could think, while looking ahead to Saturday’s flight to Italy for exhibition games in Rome and London, was how much the pressure suddenly has shifted . . . or was that lifted?</p> He no longer is alone on stage, and no longer will be asked to perform his own magic every time a game is on the line.</p> “I got to that point (last) season,” he said of life before the acquisitions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. “I didn’t know which direction my career would go in. I definitely felt like I had been left on an island, especially when I got hurt.</p> “I didn’t realize how much I meant to our club until then, and that was way too much of a burden to take on when it was time to look ahead.”</p> Pierce, who was prepared to ask for a trade before the deals for Allen and Garnett dramatically altered the look and capability of the team, admitted he was among those who wondered whether Danny Ainge’s plan finally was going to bear fruit.</p> “Yeah, I felt that way this year,” he said. “Especially with the way the season went. We didn’t (win) the lottery, and then it seemed like it was going to be the same as before, trying to pick a player in the draft.”</p> But on the eve of the Celtics’ 10-day European excursion, the focus has shifted. The talk now is of chemistry, Italian style.</p> Allen recently spoke of the benefits the new Celtics trio will provide for everyone concerned, especially considering all three principals languished for so long as solitary stars in weak galaxies. The former UConn star was excited about having more crunch-time options and being able to beat double teams.</p> Pierce already expects to score less.</p> “Obviously, you have to make sacrifices in this situation,” he said. “We’re all used to carrying the load, and that’s about to change. It’s what we can do now to make each other better that is going to come into play now. You might be asked to change your role, and I can definitely see that happening this year.</div></p> Source: Boston Herald</p>
The games against the Raps should be fun. The Celtics all-star team versus the local boys should be great for the fans.</p>
