Sam Cassell is sending another strong message to Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo. But this time it is a kinder, gentler one than on Feb. 6, when Cassell delivered a flagrant foul to Rondo while playing for the Los Angeles Clippers in a 111-100 loss to the Celtics.

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Cassell returned to TD Banknorth Garden for the first time since that game, this time as the newest member of the Celtics, no longer desiring to bury Rondo but to praise him.

 He s made tremendous strides before I came to the Celtics,  Cassell said before last night s 116-93 win over the Chicago Bulls.  I ve seen the great upside that that young man has. He s energetic. He s going to get tougher because he s playing with Kevin Garnett. His awareness of the game is going to get even better.

Cassell is not only among Rondo s strongest supporters, he plans to provide advice and motivation.

 I m not here to challenge for his job,  Cassell said.  I m his backup. I want to make that clear, first and foremost. He is the starting point guard for the Celtics. I may be the calmest backup he ever had in his career. Because I don t want his job. I am here to make his job easier. And that s what I told him:  I m going to push you, I m going to prepare you for how it s going to be for the postseason.  But so far, so good. He s ready.

Cassell was impressed with his new teammates last night.  The guys moved the ball,  he said.  No one thought about their own shot, they thought about helping each other out and that s winning basketball. That s the key to success.

Rondo, meanwhile, expects Cassell to challenge for the starting spot.

 You still never know,  he said before the game.  [Cassell] said that, but coach [Doc] Rivers makes the decisions.

There is a possibility Cassell occasionally will be the point guard and Rondo will be next to him.

 I played 2-guard in college,  said Rondo.  I m looking forward to it.

Cassell s arrival was a long time coming. But he said he is prepared to World of Warcraft Gold perform.

 Doc is holding me back a little bit, but he s the boss,  Cassell said.  If Doc says,  I need you tonight,  I m ready.

Asked for his reaction to arriving in Boston, Cassell said:  Great. It s been going on for a while. It took a little while longer than I wanted it to. I think that s what you want to go through when you want to get yourself something great. I think this is a great situation for me. It s great for the city of Boston. This team has a great chance. Why not be a part of it? Continued...

Cassell, who played 38 games for the Clippers, began formulating this move before the season.

 The trade when Kevin Garnett came here,  Cassell said,  I said,  Wow, that s going to be great. They re going to be very tough.  I know what Kevin brings to a team. He made me an All-Star - well, he helped make me an All-Star [in Minnesota]. I played with Ray Allen [in Milwaukee]. Paul Pierce, I played with him a lot in the course of the summer, he s from LA. There is a lot of mutual respect going on between the four of us.

As for the delays in completing his buyout by the Clippers, Cassell said:  This thing was dragging on, dragging on. This thing is bigger than all of us. We are all trying to accomplish one thing, and that s win the championship. To win the championship is sacrificing, everybody sacrificing. You have three players [Allen, Garnett, and Pierce] who sacrifice; those guys are sacrificing their numbers. No one is thinking about scoring. Everyone has the same goal - to win a championship.

 I won championships so early in my career [1994 and  95 with Houston, his first two years in the NBA]. So I thought that s how it s going to be. Let me tell you something: You miss it, miss it, miss it, year after year. I ll never forget, I saw Shaq [O Neal] win his first championship and I thought,  Why is he crying the way he is crying?  Now I know why - because you fight so hard to get to that pot of gold.

 Winning a championship, a little luck must transpire, and this has got to be the luckiest city in the world. But the chances are great. We ve just got to stay healthy. That s the key.

 If the Lord blesses our soul and we happen to win the championship, there will be a lot of teary eyes. I ll be boo-hooing so much, I ll make you all cry. You don t understand what you take your body through to June to win the championship.