Pierce believes sacrifice is key to Celtics' championship aspirations

Paul Pierce knows what it means to sacrifice for a championship in Boston.

The 2008 NBA Finals MVP saw his scoring numbers drop when the Celtics acquired Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in 2007. And Pierce believes the current Celtics core is capable of the same leap if they set aside their individual goals for team success.

"When you have that type of talent, they're going to have to learn to sacrifice," Pierce said, according to Boston.com's Mark Dunphy. "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."

Boston's success will depend on the health of All-Star Kyrie Irving, who missed 22 regular-season games and the entire postseason. With Irving becoming a free agent next summer, Pierce thinks the point guard can receive a max contract in the offseason if he leads the Celtics to their 18th title in franchise history, even if it means setting aside his box score numbers.

"Kyrie is a competitor," he said. "He's won a championship. He knows - if they win again he'll get whatever contract he wants. He's an extraordinary talent and he knows that winning trumps everything. If you win, everybody wins."