Celtics' captain Paul Pierce practiced briefly Monday and is "questionable" for the Celtics' visit to New Orleans Wednesday.

"Paul didn't do a lot, we actually pulled him out early," Rivers said of Pierce. "He wasn't moving around very well. He's questionable, I think he's going to play but right now we'll wait and see. We have a forced day off because we have to get to New Orleans before the parade."

The Celtics will travel Tuesday morning to avoid a Super Bowl parade in New Orleans, skipping practice.

Pierce played less than 31 minutes in the Celtics' 96-89 loss to Orlando Sunday, his first action since sustaining a left foot sprain Feb. 1.

"They responded with a great practice, so that's good," Rivers said of the Celtics' reaction to losing to the Magic. "But we have to get back to that workman's mentality. We have to get back to wanting to be the best defensive team in the NBA. We have to get back to executing better, and we can't just keep relying on guys coming back off injury -- and that has thrown us off a little bit because of lack of practice time, and all that. But I think that's becoming an excuse around here and we're not going to allow that. We're not going to allow that, we can't allow that."