Last season there were banner dedications, ring ceremonies, and a hero’s welcome in front of a grateful home crowd. It was the most memorable opening night for the Celtics in years, capped off with the shot of a teary-eyed Paul Pierce overcome by emotion as he relished in what it meant to be a champion.

This year on opening night there will be plane rides, hotel rooms and the roar of a hostile environment reminding the Celtics they aren’t in Boston anymore. The C’s relinquished their rights to kicking off the season at home when they made an early exit from the playoffs against the Magic. Instead, they will play on back-to-back nights as part of eight games in the first 12 days of the season.

Now the Celtics are back on an even playing field with 28 other teams around the league. They are no longer the defending champions. This season the Celtics are out to win it all back.

“It’s totally different,” said Rasheed Wallace, who won the 2004 championship with the Pistons. “When you win it, that following year everyone’s out to get you. Teams that usually would lay down or teams that aren’t as talented, that’s their big game of the season. Definitely we’re one of the elite teams in the league so we have to go back and claim what’s ours.”

The Celtics have gone from the hunted to the hunters. That doesn’t mean, though, they will spend this season consumed with hunting down the Lakers. The C’s won’t be fixated on how many points Kobe Bryant scores each night nor will they place unnecessary value on regular-season matchups.

They did not win a title by worrying about victories in their opponents’ win columns and they aren’t going to fall into that habit this time around. In order for them to be successful and fend off competition, winning must start within the Celtics themselves.

“We’re just trying to win. We’re not reclaiming anything,” said Doc Rivers. “So the mindset, I don’t know if there’s a change. The change should be we were not good enough to win it last year. You can use whatever reason you want, but we were at home watching the Eastern Conference and the Finals, and clearly that makes us last year not good enough. And so to change the mindset is, we have to be a better team than we were last year.”

The Celtics will emphasize the fundamentals that have made them a contender over the past two years. Defense, teamwork and attention to details will continue to be the backbone of this team. Nothing is too small to be overlooked when every game counts toward homecourt advantage.

“We did that [earned homecourt advantage] by paying attention to every game, by paying attention to every player, the scouting report, all the small little things that go into getting prepared for games,” said Allen. “We paid attention to those things and that’s why we won at such an alarming rate in ‘08 and ‘09, so we have to continue to do those things.”

That means treating every team as a threat, whether they are title or lottery bound. The Celtics know they cannot underestimate the opponents they will face in their home opener, the Bobcats. The 'Cats have beaten them in Boston before and have taken the Celtics down to the wire several times over the last two years. The Celtics understand what a win in the Garden would do to jumpstart the Bobcats’ season.

“They’re a good team over the last year-and-a-half, two years,” Wallace said. “They definitely improved. They brought more veterans in there. They have veteran leadership. I think they improved on defense, myself personally. But definitely you have to look out for teams like that. You can’t just go into the gym thinking they’re going to lay down just because we’re the Celtics, so we just have to go out there like I said before. We’re a good team, but we have to go out and prove it.”

This season the Celtics are hungry to prove their place in the league once again. Their abbreviated trip to the playoffs will serve as a constant reminder through the first 82 games.

“It’s hard to say when you win that you’ve learned a lot. You learn more when you lose,” said Allen. “We can always say that we felt humbled but we also can say that we have to take care of ourselves. We have to work on getting better every single day. The teams that beat us, the team that won the championship last year, we want that feeling back. So we know whether you call it humbled or just losing a little bit, we want to build that back and grow who we are, grow the Celtics back to where we were a year prior.”

Whether the Celtics are out to reclaim what they feel is theirs or simply out to win, their objective is clear. They are no longer the defending champions. One year hence, they are hoping to reclaim that label.

“It humbles you,” said Kendrick Perkins. “I think you get that hunger back, you want to go get it. I think guys are focused and I think guys know that we’ve got a great, talented team and we’re in a great situation. I don’t think guys want to let this one slip away.”