The Celtics played awful in the first half of the season, but their were valid reasons for that. Paul Pierce, Wally Szczerbiak and Tony Allen all missed big chunks of time, but Pierce and Szczerbiak are back and that should help the Celtics out big time. Paul Pierce gives the Celtics the go-to man that they didn’t have while he was out. What the Celtics did find out was that their young players (Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes and Delonte West) are pretty good. It’s not as if the Celtics have been getting blown out this season, but they have found interesting ways to lose close games. Look for the Celtics to be very improved in the second half of the season.