Celtics Hope New Star Trio Will Return Team To Glory Days

WALTHAM, Mass. --Just don't call them the Big Three.

At least not yet.

"I don't like that," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Friday, sitting under banners bearing the retired numbers of the original Big Three: Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. "McHale, Parish and Bird are the Big Three. So find another name."

The Celtics unveiled their overhauled roster at media day, with 11 of the 17 players slipping on a Boston uniform for the first time. Leading the group are Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, who are expected to join mainstay Paul Pierce in a trio that could fill the empty space next to the 16 NBA championship banners already hanging on the wall.

"It's the first thing you notice when you walk in there," said Garnett, acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves for a combination of seven picks and players. "This organization has so much history. But the best part of us coming in here is the three of us having a chance of creating our own history."

The NBA's most-decorated franchise, Boston finished with the second-worst record in the league last season and set its hopes on winning the draft lottery. When that didn't work out, basketball boss Danny Ainge remade the roster in the trade market, acquiring Allen and Garnett to join Pierce in a push for another championship.

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source : boston.com