Marc Spears got some good quotes from a very confident sounding Paul Pierce. Here's a few:
"Before the season even started last year, I was asked, ‘What is going to stop ya’ll from winning it all?’ " Pierce said in a phone interview on Thursday. "The first thing I said was, ‘If we’re healthy, we’re going to win it all.’ And I’m going to say it again: ‘If we are healthy, we are going to win it all.’
"I honestly believe that. I think we’re the best team in the NBA, healthy."
Can't say I can argue with that.
Paul gives us an update on Garnett as well.
Garnett has resumed practicing with the Celtics. He played "a couple days" last week, Pierce said, but is still working his way back from the injury.
"It wasn’t like he was out there [screaming] and dunking," Pierce said. "No, none of that. But he was out there on the court."
Comparing this year to 2008:
Are the current Celtics better than the 2008 NBA championship team?
"We’re more talented now," Pierce said. "It’s hard to say if we’re better. We’re definitely more talented and we had more depth than when we won it all."
He has some wise advice on how Rondo should deal with trade rumors (speaking from experience)
"A lot of guys lose confidence when you hear trade rumors," Pierce said. "They don’t think they’re good enough. They think they’re expendable.
"Rondo’s got to understand that’s part of the business. I was making All-Star teams and still hearing trade rumors. It just goes with the territory. You got to have thick skin in this business."
Finally, don't talk to Paul about the past.
"All that we did in 2008 is over with," Pierce said. "[That] doesn’t mean nothing with this team. We need to go out there and prove something. Rasheed is here to win a championship. That’s why he came, and that’s all we talk about. We’ve stopped talking about what happened in 2008.
"When someone brings it up, I don’t want to hear it. That’s in the past."
Also in a different article (but likely the same interview) Spears gets some comments from Pierce criticizing the referee lockout.