BOSTON – They let him in the building.

Paul Pierce might have been locked out of the Garden in a spoof video he made with The Players’ Tribune, but the Celtics legend is ready to go in his first visit to Boston this season.

"It’s always going to be a little weird," Pierce said Sunday morning. "But the thing is this year I have to remember that I have a game and I have to be ready for it. Sometimes during the season you lose focus as I did last year. But I think it’s a little easier for me this year."

Playing for his third team in three years, Pierce is still getting used to being a visitor when he is in the hallways of the Garden.

"It’s probably always going to be weird, just coming up in this arena," he said. "Even just landing in the airport, driving through the city. Taking a left instead of a right into the locker room. It’s always going to be weird coming up in here."

But joining Washington presented a nice opportunity for Pierce to stay in a competitive situation while helping to foster some of the league’s best talent to superstardom.

"They were intriguing," he said of the Wizards. "I had a chance to watch them last year, especially with that playoff run. I thought that was a team that could beat Indiana. I thought they should have beaten Indiana. The pieces they have. It was, 'This team could be dangerous.’"

Although they didn’t make it through last year, Washington is led by John Wall and Bradley Beal, two top draft picks who are making the leap from prospects to centerpieces. Paul Pierce has learned a lot about his new protégés, but most importantly about John Wall: "I know he wears boxers, not briefs."

But as well as he knows his new point guard, he didn’t get a chance to grab breakfast with his former assist machine.

When asked whether he grabbed a bite with Rajon Rondo, Pierce joked, "Naw. It’s too early."

Early or not, the matinee showdown will be as energetic and highly anticipated as any game in the Garden this year.

Follow @CLNS_JaredWeiss