A high point of the season was the performance of Paul Pierce, seen as a model captain.

01:00 AM EDT on Friday, April 21, 2006

BY SHALISE MANZA YOUNG
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Before the Celtics began their 60th season, there was optimism, but you would have been hard pressed to find someone who believed that the 2005-06 season was the one is which the team would win its 17th NBA championship banner.

Not only will there be no banner raising in November, Boston's season ended Wednesday night with a disappointing 33-49 record, no spot in the playoffs, and a great deal of talk about next year.

On the first day of the regular season, we listed some positives, negatives, and things that could go either way over the course of the season, and now seems like as good a time as any to see how they panned out.

PLUSES: Paul Pierce, Ricky Davis, team speed.

Pierce had a career year -- he was the only player in the NBA to lead his team in points (26.8), rebounds (6.7), assists (4.7) and steals (1.4) -- and would have gotten some talk as an MVP candidate had his team won a few more games. Davis, however, is in Minnesota, traded to the Timberwolves with Mark Blount and two other players in January. Now that he's out of town it's come to the fore that while Davis was becoming a public face for the franchise, behind the scenes things weren't so rosy between him and Pierce.

As for speed, coach Doc Rivers was going to run no matter what. Danny Ainge, executive director of basketball operations, while confirming that Rivers will be back next year, commended Rivers' determination to keep running despite the team not having "a point guard that's great in transition. [But] we want to run. This is what we want to do for the future."

NEUTRALS: Point guard, early season team schedule, Al Jefferson.

Delonte West won the starting point job in training camp, and while he was certainly on the floor more than he was during his rookie campaign when he played just 39 games due to two broken bones in his right hand, he missed 11 games this season with a handful of minor ailments -- concussion, strained groin, strained calf. West did, however, make great strides as he continues to learn the point. Dan Dickau got beat out by rookie Orien Greene for the backup spot and then ruptured his Achilles in December. Greene started the season well but struggled with his shooting.

Boston played 11 of its first 15 games at home, and was a promising 6-5 in those games. But the team lost its first four road games and won only 12 games away from TD Banknorth Garden this year. Regardless of where they play, the Celts have to learn to play 48 minutes of basketball, and not just 42, as Rivers pointed out Wednesday. Twenty-one of the team's losses came by five points or less.

Jefferson remains a neutral. He became a victim of his own hype in a way, and couldn't live up to those expectations after two sprained ankles. Jefferson has a lot of work to do in the offseason, first and foremost with his conditioning and defense.

MINUSES: Pierce, youth, rebounding, turnovers.

All but one of these, Pierce, were major reasons why the Celtics finished 24th out of 30. The young players have made strides, but they've come in fits and starts, and all need to become more consistent. Boston was 28th in the league in offensive rebounding, and 29th in turnovers.

Pierce was a model captain this season, both on and off the floor. Early on, that was a major question for him, given that he didn't handle the mantle of team leader well last year. Rivers said the All-Star "did just about everything we asked him to do" and after some issues in Rivers' first season at the helm, the first thing Pierce wanted to know when the two met for an exit meeting was that Rivers would be back next year. While the 33-49 mark was the worst of Pierce's eight-year tenure, he seemed to smile more, and acknowledged that he truly liked his teammates.

"I think the young guys really did it for me," Pierce said. "Just watching them grow, seeing the potential in them, knowing that we were going to have our ups and downs. But my job was to help mentor them, help them get better as the year goes along, and I think I was able to do that for the most part."

Because of all the young guys -- eight players on the end-of-season roster are 25 or younger -- there's a strong feeling that Ainge won't add another through the draft. With a lottery pick and Jefferson or Allen, he could entice another team into getting the strong veteran point guard the team needs to run the second unit and/or add a player whose only role is as defensive stopper (though Tony Allen could be that player when he's fully healthy, and depending on how his pending assault charges work out).

And Wednesday night, Rivers admitted to being scared about the prospect of adding another inexperienced player.

Trading the draft pick "conceptually, it's easier said than done. I think it's probably less likely, but we will explore every possibility," Ainge said, adding that he doesn't necessarily want a veteran player, just "good players."

Rivers confirmed that he will not be leaving the team to spend more time with his family, and said that he is still planning on moving his family from Orlando to Boston after next season, after daughter Callie graduates from high school (oldest child Jeremiah graduates this year). His third child, Austin, enters high school in 2007.

smanza@projo.com / (401) 277-7340