This column originally ran in The Standard-Times on March 5, 2005.

By Nick Tavares

I'll be honest. When I first heard Danny Ainge had shipped Gary Payton off to exile (i.e., Atlanta) for Antoine Walker, my reaction was something less than sheer enthusiasm.

Shock, confusion, exasperation ... those adjectives would've been more accurate.

I wondered How did this happen? How could Ainge suddenly do an about-face on Walker? How could he send Payton away just as he was finally learning to like Boston? Is he running the Celtics like a fantasy team?

No, he's not. He's smarter than that, and me.

What Ainge has done seems Theo Epstein-esque. Dare I say, maybe Pioli-esque.

The move to bring 'Toine back into the fold was nothing short of brilliant. It made the Celtics matter again. All Boston sports talk of late, in print and on the air, has centered on the C's.

More importantly, it gave the Celtics their soul back. Since Walker's exit, Paul Pierce has had to uncomfortably assume the role of team leader and face of the franchise. It was impossible not to notice how his face changed in the last year and a half -- from a constant smile to more of a disinterested pout.

Some players love the spotlight, others like to work quietly in the shadows. Antoine loves the spotlight. He loves being a Celtic, and he's ready to take this team on his back again.

And consider Wednesday night's game against the Lakers wasn't just a sellout, it actually meant something. When was the last time anyone could say that about a Lakers-Celtics game?

From a technical standpoint, Antoine is basically the same player they traded away. He's still able to take a nothing situation and salvage it with an incredible pass, he's still a threat on the boards when he wants to be, he's still liable to take a dozen terrible shots in a row.

But this isn't the same player. He's had to deal with a lot of adversity that has helped him mature in his time away. He went from a starter to the eighth guy off the bench in Dallas last year, and this year he was stuck in NBA purgatory with the Hawks.

This time around in Boston, he's paired with a head coach who has a definite plan in place on offense. Doc Rivers is very clear on what he wants a clean, exciting, fast-break team that takes the ball to the hoop. And Employee No. 8 should be fine with that.

For example, he's taken only eight three-point attempts in three games back. Granted, only one has been successful, but in my book, missing seven in three games is better than missing seven a game.

This team just looks completely different than they did a week ago. In three games, they've played with an excitement and enthusiasm missing before. And for the icing on the cake, it seems all but assured Gary Payton will be coming back either today or tomorrow. They'll have a bonafide point guard running this team (again).

It's still early to hand them the keys to the city, though. They still have to fight off the 76ers the rest of the season for the top spot in the division. They have to make some noise in the playoffs to get this region really excited about Celtic green again.

But they've taken a huge step. Bringing Ainge back was a huge step, and the Garden (doesn't that sound nice?) will be rocking again, for the rest of the season and, perhaps, even well into the playoffs.

Nick Tavares is a columnist for The Standard-Times. E-mail him at ntavares@s-t.com.

This story appeared on Page C5 of The Standard-Times on March 4, 2005.