As happy as he was to accept their good wishes, the former C's forward and current member of the Cavaliers - a dichotomy if ever there was one - couldn't help but sense the weirdness of it all.

``It does feel strange,'' Powe said before last night's exhibition game at Ohio State between the Celts and Cavs, two Eastern Conference rivals. ``That's especially true because of the last couple of years when we've had something going. We're definitely teams that are on opposite sides.

``But it's a business, and sometimes you're going to go to a rival in this league.''

Powe, who continues to target the February All-Star break for a return from knee surgery, said he's put aside the bitterness that resulted from the Celtics' decision not to re-sign him.

That doesn't mean he wouldn't dearly love to make them regret that move the first time he steps on the floor, especially against the Celtics .

``It's not my whole reason for wanting to come back,'' he said. ``But it would be fun to play them.''

Gone, he insists, is the disappointment of not being retained by the team he helped win its 17th NBA title.

``I let that go,'' Powe said. ``I just called my agent and said find somebody else. It's over with now. They had an opportunity, and they didn't do nothing.''

And if he makes it back all the way, it will be their loss. But Powe is more concerned, beyond his ongoing rehabilitation, with determining his place on yet another exceptionally deep team.

``I can see how I fit,'' he said. ``They have a lot of 4s and 5s on this team, but the offense they run is very similar to Boston.

``They can put me into either spot, either behind (Anderson) Verajao or the other spot. The thing about this offense is that they let the big men go anywhere, except for (new addition Shaquille O'Neal), of course.''

How this new mixture matches up against the Celtics is a question that remains to be answered. Rivers sat Garnett and Ray Allen for the duration of last night's preseason finale and played Pierce only through the first quarter.

Everyone, Powe included, will have to wait until Tuesday night's season opener in Cleveland to get a better sense of the matchups. But the anticipation already is evident in the Cleveland locker room.

``They want to beat the Celtics every time, and that's how it should be,'' Powe said. ``It's a love-hate battle, though. I guess it's going to be more hate than love.

``I mean, you can see why everyone is thinking about it that way. Just about everyone knows that there's a good chance we're going to be playing each other in the conference finals.''

Thus the buildup between now and Tuesday night.

``It's huge,'' Powe said. ``That's all we're going to use that game for is motivation. The bottom line is winning games.''

That aside, Powe can only imagine the feeling Tuesday night when he is sitting behind the opposite bench.

``We were like family over there,'' he said, watching Eddie House go through his pregame shooting routine. ``We're all just on different sides right now.''