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No panic, but C's seeking urgency

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Celtics captain Paul Pierce and his teammates are not happy with an 0-2 start.BOSTON -- The Celtics are not happy with an 0-2 start, but no one is breaking out the panic buttons quite yet in Boston's locker room.

"It’s early, man, only two games into the year," said Kevin Garnett. "I’m not about to overreact to two games. ... Just because you have a very talented locker room and a talented base that looks good on paper, you still have to make it all work and combine it. I think we are in the process right now."

On the heels of Friday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks during their home-opener at TD Garden, Boston players and coach Doc Rivers rallied around the notion that they don't have to wait long to try to put this one behind them. The Celtics trekked to the nation's capital immediately after the game for the second night of a back-to-back against the Wizards on Saturday.

Despite the quick turnaround (and Boston's typical lackluster record during those second nights), an 0-2 record should be the only motivation the Celtics need to pick themselves back up after getting throttled by a somewhat unheralded opponent on the first night in their building.

“We’re 0-2 now, so for us not to come out ready to fight for every inch of that court [Saturday] night would be definitely disappointing," said Jason Terry. "I know this team, and I know that we have deep down in us, so it’s time to turn it up a level and feel some of that urgency.”

Urgency was a buzzword after Friday's loss. There might not be panic after falling to Miami and Milwaukee, but there is a strong desire to start moving in the right direction.

"I don’t know if I’m upset, concerned -- I’m all those, probably," said Rivers. "I don’t see the urgency yet. At times I think we thought we would show up, because we have a lot of [talented] players on the team, and that would mean we would win. And when you make this many changes, I think our guys have to understand that you have to invest -- invest into the team to become a team. And I don’t think we’ve done that yet. I think we will. I think guys are, their spirit is right. We’ve got to get the minds right, too."

Terry leaned on his veteran experience and suggested Boston will emerge stronger for their early season struggles.

"These are growing pains. This is what the NBA season is, this is what the journey is all about," he said. "We are gonna look back at this and say one thing: That we grew from it. It happens, whether it’s injuries, whether it’s what we are going through right now. There’s always bumps in the road along your journey and you can look back and say, 'OK, we got through that, we persevered.' We have a lot of new people, a lot of guys trying to get adjusted, trying to feel comfortable and familiar with each other."