HARLOTTE, N.C. - There was a time back at the Inglewood YMCA in California when it was all about chili cheese fries. Baron Davis had them. Paul Pierce was hungry. It was well before either boy entertained NBA aspirations, before they set themselves apart at their respective high schools and colleges, before Charlotte and Boston.

''He was a fat, chubby kid and I was a little kid,'' said Davis of his childhood friendship with Pierce. ''I used to always have food. He was hungry all the time. He was always begging for my food. You can ask anybody. He was just greedy.''