Paul Pierce sacrificed. He advises today’s Boston Celtics to do the same.

“When you have that type of talent, they’re going to have to learn to sacrifice,” Pierce said. “Not everybody is going to be able to accomplish maybe the individual goals they want to accomplish, but the team’s greater goal should be all that matters.”

Pierce played in Boston from 1998 to 2013 and is now an NBA analyst for ESPN. He saw his numbers drop across the board when the Celtics traded for fellow future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen before the 2007-08 season, which resulted in the organization’s most recent championship.

This season’s Celtics, who are coming off a second consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference finals, haven’t taken the same route to collect talent, meshing young up-and-comers they discovered in the draft and All-Star veterans they acquired in trades or signings.

But the concept is similar: everyone will have to kick back a little bit for the group to reach its ceiling.

“You have to sacrifice if you are truly committed to trying to win a championship,” said Pierce, who curbed his offensive role from a dreadful 2006-07 season to the title season. “They’re going to win a lot of games, but if they can sacrifice, they’ll win a championship this year because the talent is definitely there.”

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These Celtics players, of course, are in a different spot than Pierce’s were in 2007.

Pierce was a 30-year-old, 10-year veteran coming off a 24-win season. Kevin Garnett was a 31-year-old, 13-year vet who hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2004. Allen was 32 and had just trudged through a 31-win season with the Seattle SuperSonics. Eventual All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo wasn’t yet a household name.

But current Celtics standouts, save for All-Star center Al Horford, are in their 20s.

All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, fourth-year guard Terry Rozier and Horford, meanwhile, can all become free agents at the end of this season.

And 21-year-old stud Jaylen Brown will be eligible for an extension next summer.

The Celtics lost Irving for the final quarter of last season and All-Star forward Gordon Hayward for effectively the entire year after he broke his left ankle on opening night.

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Their absences allowed others to take over. Rookie wing Jayson Tatum led the team in scoring during the postseason. Rozier showed off in a starting role over the final part of the regular season and into the playoffs. But now, they return a healthy roster.

The organization has consistently said it expects Irving and Hayward to be ready to go for training camp. And that means a crowded group overflowing with talent, considering Irving, Hayward, Tatum, Rozier, Horford and Brown all have the expertise to justify getting theirs and worrying about the team later.

FORMER CAVS and Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas apologized for detrimental comments about Cleveland during what he termed “playing around” on his social media Saturday night.

Thomas, who has bounced around the NBA throughout his career, was discussing the various cities where he has played and sharing an opinion on each. When he got to his brief stint with the Cavaliers, Thomas made vulgar comments before adding “I can see why LeBron left – again.”

Thomas quickly realized his mistake, turning to his Twitter to issue an apology. He then followed that up with an Instagram video.

“No, Cleveland wasn’t that bad,” Thomas said in the second video. “That was my fault. Cleveland was actually cool. It was alright. The situation just wasn’t the best … The team was dope. The players was filthy. My guy Gio. Training staff was cold. Cleveland was cool. I shouldn’t have said that.”

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Thomas was part of the blockbuster deal involving Irving last offseason, coming over from the Celtics. But after an impressive debut with the Cavaliers on Jan. 2 – following months of rehab from a significant hip injury – Thomas made little positive impact before getting dealt to the Lakers during a roster overhaul at the trade deadline.

A quiet summer led to him signing with the Denver Nuggets – his sixth team.

Saturday’s rant won’t have any impact on that free-agent deal, of course. But as Thomas learned, he might need to choose his words more carefully.

This is an era of social media, where everything can become a story and a message on his Instagram Live that he thought was harmless and intended for a specific audience can live forever.

There is no unsend button. And Cleveland won’t forget.


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