Celtics’ Transition Shifts Leadership Role to Lewis : NBA: Without Larry Bird, Boston pins much of its aspirations on 6-foot-7 all-star.

BOSTON —  Chris Ford’s first defining moment as Celtics coach came two years ago, during his very first training camp.

Ford had said the Celtics were going to run, run, run. Larry Bird expressed skepticism and let it spill into the newspapers.

Next day at practice, Ford gathered his team at midcourt and chewed out Bird. Loudly. Forcibly. Bird, as much as he could, acquiesced. The Celtics ran.

It’s two years later and Ford, secure with a contract extension, has just closed out his third training camp as coach. The Celtics open their season Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Boston Garden.

Gone is Bird, retired in August. The team’s soul has been transferred into the gut of Reggie Lewis, a young, sleek, 6-foot-7, 195-pound All-Star.

This rite of passage was anticipated. Indeed, Ford began remaking the team in Lewis’ image two years ago, from the day he cussed out Bird, did he not?

“I’m not getting a big head at all,” Lewis, the new captain, said with a laugh. He turns 27 later this month. He’s just getting into his prime and he is quite comfortable with assuming a mantle that has been held by quite a few retired numbers.

“I’m still the same person,” Lewis said. “Everybody else is calling this ‘Reggie’s Team’ and that’s fine with me. It’s just another challenge I have to face, and I look forward to it.”

In Lewis’ image, the Celtics will run even more.

And they will trap, sometimes at three-quarters court, sometimes at half-court.

And where you’ve seen mere pick-and-rolls in the past, you will now see more screens; point guards Dee Brown and Sherman Douglas will be using them as impetus to slash to the basket and feed Lewis on the wing, or even Joe Kleine in the high post.

And where you’ve seen Bird throwing up three-point field goals, you will see Lewis throwing up the threes. And Brown. And Kevin Gamble. And Rick Fox. And even Kevin McHale.

And where you’ve seen clearouts for Bird along the baselines, you will see the same isolation plays run for Xavier McDaniel. And Robert Parish.

“We’re going to be the same up-tempo, push-the-ball-up-court team but players are going to be in different spots,” assistant coach Jon Jennings said. “I’m not going to say it’s like a radical approach -- Reggie, Kevin and Robert are obviously still the key offensive players for us.

“But that doesn’t mean the other guys aren’t going to be exhibited in this different uptempo game. We’re going to utilize different uptempo scenarios and such. We’re going to be pushing it up even more, but trying to get people into spots -- McDaniel and Gamble, maybe in the post -- and using the strengths of those kinds of guys, as opposed to bringing the ball down, throwing it into the post and seeing what happens.”

We’ll see what happens.

The upside, according to Parish: “I think we’re going to have the stability we didn’t have the last couple of years. Before, we had that emotional adjustment all the time, everybody anticipating his return. You’d get up and charged for that, and then when he was not around you’d have that mental letdown.”

The downside, according to McHale: “There are a lot of questions to be answered on this team, and a lot of them don’t particularly pertain to Robert and me. Will Dee Brown be the type of player everyone wants him to be? What’s Rick Fox’s role going to be? A million other things.”

Will McHale’s ankle, which has been bothering him again, ever heal? Is Parish, 39, capable of sustaining himself for a whole season, and on into the playoffs? Will McDaniel merge easily with his new mates? A million things.

One thing the Celtics are not worried about -- especially after their 15-1 regular-season stretch run last spring -- is confidence.

“Although it was a short period of time, they were crucial games, and we came through it OK,” Ford said. “Now, we’d like to go through an 82-game schedule and do the same sort of thing. And be more consistent. Although Reggie Lewis is now our go-to guy, he can’t carry us, we need contributions from everyone, every night.”

A quick look at everyone:

Centers: For the first time in his career, Parish has beefed up, adding between 10 and 15 pounds of upper-body muscle through off-season weight training. And, for the first time in two years, Joe Kleine doesn’t have “the Stojko Vrankovic Experiment” hanging over him. Stojko is in Greece. Parish’s minutes will be rationed to 25 a night and Kleine, 30, will get a chance to prove himself worthy of meaningful playing time.

Small forwards: McDaniel will be counted on for scoring -- he should get enough shots to average close to 20 points -- and toughness. When McDaniel gets time at power forward, Gamble will step in to what is a fleet lineup. When the Celtics are pressing, Fox will definitely be on the floor; depending on matchups, Fox could also be at power forward.

Power forwards: When healthy, Ed Pinckney will probably start. McHale, off the bench, will also play center in smaller lineups. If one or both aren’t healthy, the Celtics could really be exploited at this position -- they desperately need rebounding help.

Point guards: Douglas will start. Brown will come off the bench when the Celtics really want to fly -- or if they need defense at the point. In some instances, Douglas and Brown will be in the backcourt together, with Lewis moving to small forward.

Shooting guards: As the old sneaker ad said, that’s Reggie Lewis. He will have every chance to become a superstar. He will get every tough shot in every tough spot. Until Jon Barry -- the first-round draft choice who can play either guard spot -- signs a contract, Bart Kofoed will have a job. Perhaps Barry will never sign; that’s the way it looks now.