Travel snarled by snowstorm

After playing the Nuggets last night at the Pepsi Center, the Celtics departed for Salt Lake City, where they will play the second half of a back-to-back set tonight against the Jazz at the Delta Center.

The Celtics landed in Denver just six hours before tipoff, then checked into their hotel for a two-hour stay. It took the coordination of owner Wyc Grousbeck, chief financial officer Bill Reissfelder, travel manager John Connor, security director Phil Lynch, communications director Bill Bonsiewicz, and vice president of marketing John Brody, not to mention countless hours on cellphones, to make sure Boston got to Denver on time and prepared to play.

"Everything was new today for me," said the Celtics' Eric Williams. "I've been playing for nine years now and never had this situation happen.

"As soon as the snow stopped, we took off. It had been snowing constantly, just a constant come-down, and I guess safety is the best policy."

Team officials suspected they might have travel problems Thursday when local forecasts predicted a big snowstorm. The Celtics called their carrier, DB Air, Thursday to try to move their Denver departure to Friday night from Saturday evening. Normally, the Celtics share two planes with the Rockets and Bulls, but they were both booked Friday night.

The Celtics looked into renting the Suns' plane, using a plane located in Las Vegas for $120,000, or renting a plane out of Edmonton for $80,000. But there were logistical issues in each case.

Finally, DB Air located a plane that could reach their suburban Boston airport by Saturday morning. The Celtics and DB Air settled on a 10 a.m. departure time, after contemplating busing the team to Manchester, N.H., where visibility was better.

"There was a huge exhale," said Connor, who was reached by phone yesterday. "We think we're all set. No, we're not all set. We sat on that plane from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m."

The Celtics sat on the tarmac for seven hours because of the league's insistence that they "give every effort" to leave Saturday and avoid cancellation of last night's game. The NBA reserves the right to fine a team if it fails to show up for a contest, even if delayed by weather.

Another flight was scheduled for 8 a.m. yesterday. But there were other issues. First, the company that usually caters the Celtics' flights was unable to deliver food. Second, coach Jim O'Brien was concerned about his players driving in the storm.

The Boston Harbor Hotel came through with 40 box breakfasts and box lunches. Lynch left his house at 5 a.m. to pick up the meals and make sure he reached the airport on time. Video coordinator Jamie Young drove from Waltham to the airport, testing the roads. He pronounced them passable and everyone was safely on board by 8:30 a.m. At approximately 11 a.m., there was enough visibility to take off.

"It just shows you the teamwork of the Celtics off the court, from Wyc on down," said Connor. "Wyc said, `Safety first and I'll write a check if I have to.' Bill Reissfelder was super exploring possibilities. And believe it or not, the morale of the team and coaching staff was fantastic considering." The Celtics also had to contend with a snowstorm in Salt Lake City upon leaving Denver.Bottoms up So far this season, Denver coach Jeff Bzdelik has engineered an impressive turnaround. The Nuggets entered last night's contest atop the Midwest Division after finishing last season at the bottom.

"We're only six weeks in," said Bzdelik when reached by phone. "We've all been around the NBA a long time and the only thing that matters is the next thing we do. We try to get better every day."

For now, Bzdelik is keeping his goals realistic, looking for his players to compete with a tough, unselfish style, and believing the wins will continue if they do.

"I want a team of effort, a team of unselfishness both offensively and defensively, helping each other to defend, helping each other to score," said Bzdelik. "I want to see a team that runs with high energy. That's the fun way to play. It's a fun way for fans to watch. And to mathematically still be involved in the playoff race as late into the year as possible. And to continue to develop our younger players.

"I want us to play with great effort every time we step on the court. I call it a desperate, relentless energy."

Globe correspondent Paul Willis contributed to this report.