The Celtics know this could be their last rodeo. They may bristle when we call them "old" and they may rage against the dying of the night, but they know time's a tickin'.

Side note: Forgive my over-linking and over-quoting articles that Paul Flannery writes, but he's just on point with this stuff so often, it is hard not to. So obviously go read the whole thing, but I'll take the liberty of cherry picking a few of his best quotes.

celtics - The clock is ticking for Celtics - WEEI | Paul Flannery

"There’s definitely a sense of urgency there," Paul Pierce said. "You try to get a banner one last time, you try to go out with a championship. We feel we have all the pieces, we have all the ingredients to do it. A lot of things are going to be up in the air this summer."

"They know," Rivers said. "The clock's ticking."

"Both teams are playing for survival as a group," Rivers said. "I really believe that. If we win this series and keep moving on, we're going to want to build on this team. If they win, something can happen to us. If we win, you may not see that same Atlanta team. Both teams are playing for survival."

No surprises there, but hearing them say it is telling indeed.