With the Return of Pierce, the Celtics Will Excel

With the return of perennial All-Star Paul Pierce, the Boston Celtics will excel and perhaps win the Atlantic Division title. The team has been improving dramatically and with their star back, they could really do some damage.

Any Celtics fan can acknowledge the fact that the team has began to gel quite a bit, even through some tough losses. At the time of writing this article the C's were only two games out of first place in the division. This isn't saying much considering the Atlantic Division is the laughing stock of the NBA, however. The Celtics will use this to their advantage and hopefully dominate the group of weak teams in their division.

The Celtics record of 12-20 does not reflect the talent or work ethic of the team. Famed Boston player and now play by play announcer Tom Heinsohn has applauded this team more than any that I have seen in many years. He just seems to love this group of guys.

With very young talent backed up by veterans such as Pierce and Wally Szcerbiak the Celtics seem to have a recipe for success in their division of very poor teams.

Though they have lost many games of late the Celtics have really been growing with the absence of Paul Pierce. Tony Allen, who Boston fans were quite frankly getting sick of, has now become an instant fan favorite. Allen has been putting up uncharacteristic numbers with over 20 points night after night while usually dishing off 4 or 5 assists.

Gerald Green, who many this is the future of the Boston Celtics has been coming around and making some big plays down the stretch. Green is exploding with athleticism and can overpower smaller and less athletic players at his position

Al Jefferson, the Celtic's big man project is finally beginning to come around and become one of the best big men in the Eastern Conference with 14 points and 10 rebounds per game through 32 games.

Wally Szcerbiak is as consistent as ever and is continuing to make shots even through painful injuries. Szcerbiak is much underrated in the league. Wally provides some stability on the court for the young players.

With the way that the Celtics have been playing with out Pierce, just imagine how well will do when he returns. Watch out for the Celtics in the playoffs, they are not a team to be written off.