Perhaps it is because the Red Sox are going to the World Series, or perhaps it is because he is now a veteran GM, but any way you look at it, Danny Ainge's presence is not nearly as ubiqutious as it was last season.

"Doc's encouraged me to be around and encouraged me to talk to the players," Ainge said yesterday. "But what's going on now is strictly a matter of where I need to be spending my time, where I can best utilize my abilities on any given day.

"I'm very comfortable with what's going on with our team, and I think that's allowed me to deal with the other aspects of my job," Ainge said. "Last year I felt that I was brought into a job by the new ownership to make some changes and implement different things. I don't feel like I overstepped my bounds in any way, shape or form. I was patient with things, but I felt like I had to be around more because of all the dysfunction we had. That's not picking on anyone, that's just the way things were.

"When I took the job, I thought I'd spend 20 percent of my time with the team and 80 percent of my time dealing with the other things - improving our roster, scouting for the draft, talking to other teams. But with the way things were, it was the exact opposite of that. I had to spend more time with our team than I expected.

"This year, I had an entire summer to talk to Doc and go over our philosophy. We're on the same page, so I just turned things over to him and his staff. That doesn't mean we agree on everything. But there's mutual respect and we understand our different job descriptions.

"Most of the people in my position are traveling now to see college practices and see what other teams are doing. I feel like I can do that now."

Even though Boston couldn't care less about basketball right now, as the Red Sox have the Bambino's Curse dizzy and against the ropes, keen observers of the Celtics are quietly optimistic about their chances this season.