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The Patriot Ledger Young Celtics team misses playoffs for first time in five years
The Ledger, FL - Apr 20, 2006
By HOWARD ULMAN. Paul Pierce had the best season of his career and the Boston Celtics still had their worst record in seven years. ...
WAIT ?TIL NEXT YEAR: Pierce, Rivers share positive outlook on ... The Patriot Ledger
Young Celtics team misses playoffs for first time in five years Newburyport Daily News
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Thu, 20 Apr 2006 19:48:00 GMT

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By MIKE FINE
The Patriot Ledger
BOSTON - It seems like it was all about the kids. Can Delonte handle the point? Can Kendrick anchor the defense? Will Al develop into a scorer? Will Gerald get a clue? For most of the season, that seemed to be the Celtics’ story. The third-youngest team in the NBA, they seemed even younger, with an eager group of relatively inexperienced youngsters upon whom the club relied to make the playoff push, which ended prematurely.
In reality, though, the 2005-06 Celtics were more about the veterans, about the transformation of Paul Pierce, the spitting out of Mark Blount and Ricky Davis, the acquisition of Wally Szczerbiak and, to a huge degree, the leadership of the oldest of them all, coach Doc Rivers.
In the end, it produced only 33 wins, but nevertheless, the Celtics took a big leap forward toward next season.
‘‘I’m very optimistic,’’ said Pierce, who like several other veterans on both sides (including Shaquille O’Neal and Dwayne Wade) sat out last night’s regular-season-ending 85-78 victory over the Miami Heat. ‘‘I could see us really turning a corner in a hurry. I expect us probably to be the best team in the Atlantic next year. I’m not going to predict how many games we’ll get, but I think I can predict how many games it’ll take to win the Atlantic, and we’re going to be one of the favorites. If we had that one veteran presence, and even if we don’t, we’re going to be a lot better team, even a playoff team if we didn’t do anything with the team as it is.’’

Big statement from Pierce...anyone agree?