Paul Pierce will play for the first time this season on Friday night against the Detroit Pistons in the 11-12 home opener for the Boston Celtics. He missed the team’s first three games, all losses, with a bruised right heel.

“Not a lot,” Doc Rivers said of the minutes Pierce will play. “We’ll just go with our eyes. He’s had just one practice and that was, what, three weeks ago?

“We will build him up each game.”

Rivers added that the Celtics could switch from their zone defense back to man if Pierce has trouble due to the lack of repetitions in practice/games because of his injury.

He added that the team’s 0-3 record had nothing to do with the decision to activate Pierce for Friday night’s game.

“Nah, we could be 3-0 and I’d be playing Paul tonight,” Rivers said.