Paul Pierce has been in the news the past couple of days. He gave a very candid interview on Celtics.com in which he talks about his feelings about Ray's departure and this upcoming season.   The photo on the left was posted on the Captain's Facebook page with the title just "Training."  He previously posted a photo titled "Working" that I posted here if you missed it. 

If you haven't already watched the interview with Pierce, it is posted on Celtics.com and you can go here to watch it. In the interview he admits to being a little bitter over Ray leaving for Miami but says that he's still a brother of his and that the things he's done for the Celtics won't be forgotten. He's excited for this upcoming season and here's what he had to say about the team that Danny has put together.

"I thought Danny did a good job of trying to replace Ray Allen. As you know Ray Allen went off to Miami, on his choice, but he was a great teammate, it was fun playing with him. But I think the guys coming in here - Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, trying to get a healthy Jeff Green, even some of our rookies - I think we’ve added a lot more depth, and it’s going to take a lot of pressure off me this upcoming season."

"I’ve always been a big fan of Jason Terry. Playing against him in college for a couple years, then watching his NBA career flourish over the years. From winning a championship to just bringing that element to our ball club now - he’s one of best sixth men all-time to play the game. That’s something we were lacking a year ago, and that was only due to injuries, so hopefully he can bring that consistency, that championship experience, so we can get back to where we were a few years ago."

Pierce also discussed the MCL injury that he suffered in the playoffs last season. It would seem that the injury was worse than the team let on as he has spent most of the offseason strengthening the area around the knee to help the MCL heal. He admits that he is still only at about 90% but it has been responding well to the treatment and work. He's been focused on strengthening the quad and hamstring to alleviate stress on the knee and so that he can come back stronger this season.

The Captain is excited for the new season and had this to say about the upcoming season:

"We’re going to build on what we did last year. I think we’re more talented. We were able to bring back Brandon Bass -- we brought back our starters and then added to it. I think we have a deeper and better bench. Hopefully, it reflects better in the playoffs, so that we can go for a championship."

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