History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.
That quote, apocryphal but ift-attributed to Samuel Clemens (better known as Mark Twain), is often an accurate one in many situations, both grand and small. And for the Boston Celtics, it's once again apropos - particularly Paul Pierce.
We are witnessing the culmination of an entire NBA contention window cycle, the Celtics having been molded by the alchemy of Danny Ainge and the wizardry of Brad Stevens from the iron warriors of Banner 17 into the soft clay of Billy King's (or perhaps Mikhail Prokhorov's) hubris, and from that into a new army of iron - with a green patina, of course.