Celtics Title Town

"I never believed that anybody is ever defending a title, because that was last year," Rivers said before Boston's offday workout at AmericanAirlines Arena on Monday. "They don’t own the trophy this year. That’s what I tell our guys: Miami is defending nothing. They won the title last year. You don’t give your trophy back -- that’s in boxing, where you get the belt back, that’s defending the title. In the NBA, you win a new title.

"We’re trying to win a new title, and they’re trying to win a new title. But they don’t have this year’s trophy, so they are not defending it. That’s the way we look at it. And that’s the way we tried to look at it [after Boston's 2008 title victory]."

I love how Doc turns it around. He's a master of words, and a great motivator. The Celtics will return to the scene where their dreams died. The Celtics will be able to get in the first punch in a season long battle that will hit a head in May 2013 when both the Celtics, and Heat should met for the East crown. It would be sweet to see the Celtics spoil the Heat's ring ceremony.