Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce knows what a good NBA team looks like, having been on some very good Celtics rosters over the courser of his career as a player. And the Truth believes this iteration of the ball club he won a title with in 2008 is looking like a dangerous team despite some naysayers suggesting this version of the Celtics is going to take a major step back on the trade of star forward Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers.

"I expect this group to be very competitive," said Pierce in a recent interview with NBC Sports Boston's "Pregame Live" show hosts Brian Scalabrine, Eddie House and Tom Giles. "I mean, we look at the team they put out there last year with no (Jayson) Tatum for most of the year. They had Brown, who was playing at an MVP level."

"Okay, so we're probably going to say that Paul George is our second best player," continued Pierce, comparing him with the hosts to Derrick White or Payton Pritchard as Boston's second-best player from last season. "And you still have Pritchard and Derek White," he added, "and you've got Tatum, so I expect them to be competitive – I expect them to battle for the East."

"Believe me," exhorted Pierce. "Look at the East. There's no clear-cut favorite to me. The (New York) Knicks obviously they're the champs, but they lost something. They lost a big piece (in) Mitchell Robinson, who's here with the Celtics."

"There's (the) Philadelphia (76ers), they can be really good. They're talented, but they're (in their) first year together. So when I look around the league, I think it's pretty wide open, especially at (the) Detroit (Pistons), they'll be really good. They've got the same guys coming back, so I think it's pretty wide open."