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Same core, new team?WALTHAM, Mass. -- Much has been made about the Celtics window of opportunity in recent years and how an aging Big Three has fought to keep that window open entering their fifth season together. But rather than envision this as a quest for that elusive second championship together, Celtics coach Doc Rivers thinks you can toss that window stuff right out the, well, window.

“At the end of the day, we didn’t win it [last season], so we have to get back to work," he said. "We have to get back to work to be a championship team, not getting back to where we were last year. So as far as I’m concerned, we’re not trying to win it again. We’re trying to win it for the first time with this group. That’s the mentality we have to have coming into this season.”

As for if a compressed 66-game schedule can benefit an older team, as the shortened 1999 campaign seems to suggest, Rivers wasn't certain how it would play out.

"I don’t really think it’s an advantage either way," he said. "You can make the case either way. With a lot of games, a veteran team will need less work, so they can play together better. But then a younger team, a more athletic team... I think it all evens out in a wash."