Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The hype is about to end, and the games -- even though it's preseason -- are quickly approaching. Celtics head coach Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge, general manager and director of basketball operations, are ready to get the season underway.

It's been an important off-season for the Celitcs. The entire outlook of the franchise was turned around, and that extends further than ticket sales and sports talk radio shows. Players and coaches have all of a sudden been injected with renewed fire and fervor.

Ainge said earlier today that his highlight of the summer was "to see the enthusiasm and rejuvenated spirit in the eyes of Doc (Rivers) and Paul (Pierce)."

For Rivers, entering his fourth season as Celtics head coach, this year will be both a process and an opportunity.

The "process" will include molding the team dynamic both on and off the court with a roster that features nine new players. Rivers openly admits it is still unclear exactly how much the additions of Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen will change Pierce's game. It will be one of the many details to be worked out in preseason and throughout the regular season.

The "opportunity" aspect of this season is pretty self-explanatory. Rivers has gone from coaching a team of developing players -- several who may only develop into serviceable NBA players -- to a coach with three established all-stars and several experienced veterans coming off the bench.

"Last year, when we had one of our first player meetings and you go around the locker room and you ask about goals, one of our young guys said 'I think we can win a world championship,'" Rivers said. "Last year, you would've said that's unrealistic. You know what I'm saying. This year, I don't think anyone's saying that. If someone says that (winning a championship), they wouldn't say that's unrealistic. For me it's just a great opportunity."

While Ainge put together the team that has uplifted basketball in Boston from the second-tier behind the Red Sox and Patriots, championship expectations and projections of success appear to have have left Ainge somewhat conflicted.

On the one hand, Ainge said a big concern is expectations of a team that "hasn't done anything." At the same time, he insists that the organization will not shy away from the expectations.

"I'm not afraid of high expectations," Ainge said. "I want our coaches to have high expectations. I want our players to have high expectations."