Plenty of fight in them

Practice intensity sign of readiness

WALTHAM - Judging by practice sessions and exhibition games, the Celtics are going all out to defend their turf. In fact, they have been taking their competitive attitude to the limit in preparation for the season opener against Cleveland Tuesday.

"We are so prepared," Ray Allen said yesterday, "that in one-on-ones, it got to the point where guys get in fights. Nobody ever actually fights, but we have a lot of barking on this team, from everybody, and I think you see that machismo among the guys. Everyone wants to feel like the top dog. Ultimately, we take that and translate it to the team concept, and everything we do helps the team.

"I've been on teams where guys thought they were good but never showed that passion on the floor. Ultimately, if you care about what you are doing, it shows up on the floor."

The aggressive tone is set defensively, usually starting with Kevin Garnett.

"[Garnett] is a lot more intense this year," Paul Pierce said. "I didn't think he could go to another level, but he has. It's infectious and you see it in practice - it's like we never won anything."

Said Garnett, "My intensity rubs off on Paul and Ray a little bit. The young players are getting to understand the intensity we play with for 48 minutes, that when we play at home, we protect that; what practice is - we come here and we don't go long but we go hard."

The players' competitiveness has spilled over into conflicts against opponents, the most spirited encounter during a 90-89 win over Houston in Manchester, N.H., when Pierce was targeted by Ron Artest and the Celtics' Bill Walker tangled with Tracy McGrady.

"Everyone feels they can go out and get the job done, and that makes this team better," Allen said. "We take great pride in playing defense, stopping the best guy on the floor. That makes us a great unit, because we all help each other. You can't ask for anything more."

Nice ring to it

Allen got a preview of the NBA championship rings the Celtics will receive during a pregame ceremony Tuesday.

"It really doesn't matter what it looks like because what it stands for is most important," said Allen. "We all have that symbol that bonds us together the rest of our lives, and nobody can take it away from us."

Asked to describe the ring, Allen replied, "You're definitely going to notice it. It's definitely a conversation point when you're wearing them. I don't know how much we'll be wearing them. But there are so many people in our lives and in our careers and they need that, to understand that winning championships is not something that happens to everybody, it's not something that happens every day. When you have the opportunity to symbolize that, what better way than to have that than in a ring?"

Pierce prefers the element of surprise. "I decided not to look at it," he said. "I can't imagine it but it's going to be a special night."

Said coach Doc Rivers, "Two things make it special - the banner going up and when they get the box, open it up, and it has the ring in it. The ring they get to take home. Everything else is hanging or stays in someone else's cabinet. I think the ring is something very, very special."

Old is new

Point guard Rajon Rondo illustrated the Celtics' progress over a year ago, when players were being introduced to Rivers's system and to each other.

"We should be better than last year, we should know each other better, we should have better chemistry," Rivers said. "A good example was [yesterday], even though I didn't like it and it worked. We were working on end-of-the-game stuff and Rondo came down and called a play from last year and ran it, and they knew it. We hadn't put that in yet; we wanted to put it in in the middle of the year. But that's an advantage we have."

Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com.