Most of us would be playing somewhere anyway. In terms of getting your body in shape and getting mentally prepared, there?s probably no better preparation than this.

We had a lot of open shots and a lot of good looks at the baskets. After the trade, we changed a lot of big pieces.

How on earth can you let a guy who can't dribble score 27 points in one half? It's embarrassing.

That's not the important thing, ... The most important thing is that we won a game against a very good team on our home court.

It's not just the numbers. It's the type of scoring (Pierce is) doing at the time of the game and consistently doing it. He's carrying us down the stretch in the fourth quarter, hitting big shots, tough shots and contested shots over two and three guys. He's been phenomenal.

It's enjoyable playing for Doc. I'm right on track. I think our whole team is right there. We've had a very good camp thus far, a very competitive camp. The first couple days are always a little rough. I try to get my legs under me. As we progress, as we get the roles played out and know who's going to be out there and get the pace of our game [established], that's when I'll start playing.

Doc changed a few things and we followed through.

It's special to watch. As a team, we try to get him the ball as much as we can and try to ride the wave. He's carried us.