By George, he's a fan of Karl's

DENVER -- When Gary Payton said yesterday, "That's my coach," he was not referring to the Celtics' Doc Rivers. He was talking about Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, the man who guided the veteran point guard for seven seasons in Seattle and for the second half of the 2002-03 season in Milwaukee. The bond between Payton and Karl has been forged through good times and bad, anger and disagreements.

"Gary's a great competitor and we've had an incredibly interesting history," said Karl. "In a very strange way, we're very close. The first two or three years you saw us together, you would never think that would ever happen, but it did. That's what great about the game of basketball. It brings people together in strange ways."

The respect goes both ways.

"That's my coach," said Payton before last night's 107-86 loss to the Nuggets. "I'm going to know everything he's running, but he's still a great coach. He's going to have them playing basketball. I think he's a players' coach. He lets you play. He lets you have freedom. He coaches to everybody's strength. If you do something well, he's going to put you in a situation where you can succeed."

Rivers can see why Payton enjoyed playing for Karl, despite the occasional conflicts. Since Karl became the franchise's 19th coach Jan. 27, Rivers has noticed Denver playing with more intensity.

"I don't know if it's George or just change [that brought more intensity]," said Rivers. "I think with George's name there's no doubt that that has to happen. His name brings respect and players want to perform for him. When you bring in a guy with that type of name, you're going to get that effort right away."

Have another Pepsi
Rookies Al Jefferson and Tony Allen returned to the site of their most recent triumph, playing at the Pepsi Center for the second time in less than a week. Last Friday night, the pair played on the rookie team in the All-Star Rookie Challenge. Rivers believes the All-Star experience can only be a positive for young players and doesn't worry about Allen or Jefferson becoming fatigued over the second half without an extended break.

"I don't think it hurts," said Rivers. "I think it has to help confidence-wise. As a rookie, you're always [wondering] do you belong and how good are you going to be? The fact that we had two rookies out of all the guys on the team said that Danny [Ainge] did a hell of a job drafting, but more importantly, it says that they're starting to play well."

Allen felt he didn't gain any additional confidence after a weekend hanging out with the best players in the game. But he did return to the Celtics a little fatigued, saying he now knows what it feels like to hit the proverbial rookie wall. That was obvious when he fouled out in eight minutes against the Lakers Tuesday night.

"I've still got a role on this team," said Allen, who had 12 points and nine rebounds in last night's loss. "I still have the same mind-set to take advantage of whatever the defense gives me and play defense and do whatever I can to help the team. Going to All-Star break didn't help me realize that. I felt I was one of the top rookies since I got drafted. I was disappointed for a lot of guys that went in front of me. But I'm happy that I'm in this position."

No takers
Denver was one of the teams that passed on Paul Pierce in the 1998 NBA Draft, selecting Raef LaFrentz instead with the No. 3 pick. Recently, then-Nuggets general manager Dan Issel said he strongly considered selecting Pierce, who was taken 10th by the Celtics, until former Kansas coach Roy Williams spoke in more flattering terms about LaFrentz. The Celtics' leading scorer and four-time All-Star believes the Nuggets were never really interested in him. "I came here and worked out for 15 minutes and they told me to go home," said Pierce. "I think he's lying [about talking to Williams]. There's no truth to it. He didn't want me. Roy didn't insult me. Where's Dan working at now? A lot of those guys who passed up on me don't have a job now." . . . Doug Moe, the winningest coach in Nuggets history, officially moved to the bench as an assistant to Karl. The new role for Moe meant Michael Cooper will be reassigned within the organization . . . Bill Russell will chat on Celtics.com today at 2:30 p.m. as part of an ongoing celebration of Black History Month . . . The trading deadline is today at 3 p.m. Ainge reiterated that "nothing's going on" and Rivers repeated his desire and belief that the current team remain together.