"It takes a minor miracle to get all three stars together during the offseason, but Doc Rivers broke bread with Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce a couple weeks ago to go over the way last season ended and once again pass along the memo that the championship window is getting smaller.

Allen and Garnett are 35, Pierce is 33. The tick-tocks are getting louder.

Losing to the Heat in the second round of the playoffs after reassembling the core for one more run was tough to swallow. Perhaps more difficult, Rivers said, than losing to the Lakers in Game 7 of the 2010 Finals."