The Celtics were one of the few teams in sports who have done what they had promised before the season started: the championship. The challenge of putting three great players together on the same team and with the pressure of winning immediately never seemed to be easy, but Garnett, Pierce and Allen left their ego's at home and focused on team work.

The team finished with a regular season record of 66-16 and they started the season in an unbelievable way by going 29-2 in their first 31 games. In the Playoffs, they struggled against the Hawks and the Cavs, but they cameback to their best level and they defeated the Lakers in the NBA finals in a very easy way. The key of all this success was the winning dynamic the team had during the whole season, otherwise it wouldn't be possible for Boston to have a 9-2 record without Garnett (the two defeats were by 1 and 3 points) or to have a 8-1 record without Ray Allen. Also in the last part of the regular season, when the minutes of the starters were reduced, Boston continued winning, due to an impressive winning dynamic.

For the first time in 7 seasons, Paul Pierce averaged less than 20 ppg (19.6 ppg) on a season. It is expected that Pierce has a similar performance this season, helping the team in every area: defense, offense and leadership. Also Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen decreased their numbers, in comparison to their previous seasons, with Garnett averaging less than 20 ppg and 10 rpg for the first time since the 1997-1998 season and Allen averaging less than 20 ppg for the first time since the 1998-1999 season! These two players are now coming from another season on the league and the expectations on them continue to be huge. However, we can't forget Garnett is 32 years old and Ray Allen is 33. As if it wasn't enough for Boston to be the team that everybody wants to beat this season, the competition on their division will be much bigger this season. Last season they won the Atlantic division by having more 25 wins than Toronto (2nd on division) and 43 more wins than the Knicks (5th).

The offseason didn't bring many news to Boston and the only real change was James Posey leaving to the Hornets. Posey had a very important role in the Playoffs and during the season. Even though he has "just" averaged 7.4 ppg and 4.4 rpg, the truth is that he was a good offensive threat and GM Danny Ainge wasn't able to find a replacement for Posey. Darius Miles signed a contract with the Celtics, but he was later waived and it's fair to ask until what point the departure of Posey this season will be important for Boston.

P.J. Brown has finally retired with a championship ring and he will leave Garnett alone in the frontcourt with the talented youngsters Glen Davis and Leon Powe, who had very good rookie seasons last year. Without Brown, these two players will have a more important role on the Celtics this season, in order to give some rest to Garnett and Perkins.

Rajon Rondo took advantage of the confidence and the opportunity of being able of playing with the Big Three and he was impressive. Many analysts predicted that he would struggle in leading the team in the Playoffs, due to his lack of experience, but that didn't happen and Rondo managed to keep Sam Cassell sited on the bench more time than everything was expecting him to be. The role of Cassell this season will be to help the team more outside the field than inside, as his physical shape isn't the same from a couple of seasons ago and Eddie House will be the main backup of Rondo this season. Tony Allen will have the role that Posey had last season, as the 6th man of the team and with his physical problems solved, Allen will be capable of doing that role well.

Boston comes to this season once again as the main favorite to win the Eastern conference and the expectations very high once again. The team has shown last season that they can handle the role of being the favorites, not giving any chances to their opponents during the regular season. The competition on the Atlantic division is stronger than ever and even though, the Big Three will be one year older than they were last season, nothing should prevent the Celtics from being once again in position to win for another NBA championship.

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