BOSTON -- Mickael Pietrus' ear-to-ear smile might be the most common sight in the Celtics' locker room these days.
Pietrus doesn't need to do a whole lot to remind everyone that he's the most upstart guy in the room -- a personality trait that everyone on this Celtics roster is already appreciating -- and after Wednesday's 96-73 thrashing of the Toronto Raptors, in which he scored 12 points in 23 minutes on 4-of-7 shooting -- all from 3-point nation -- he answered reporters' requests for a quick chat by quickly singing: "I'm sexy and I know it."
Wait, what?
Such is what you will find when you encounter the endearing Pietrus, who just felt like dropping that line from the popular LMFAO song, "Sexy and I Know It." Few players could have sung that line and generated a room full of laughs the way Pietrus did.
Wednesday's win was Pietrus' first as a Celtic, and after his quick rendition, that was all he wanted to talk about.
"It's always good to see a smile on the faces of my teammates, and I enjoy it," Pietrus said when asked to describe the feeling of his first win. "We just have to think about the next one. It's going to be even harder, and I think you just have to stay focused and we've been doing great things defensively and offensively, so, just keep doing it."
Pietrus hasn't had much of a chance to show off his infectious personality to the TD Garden crowd, but he's already winning them over with the boatload of 3-pointers he's hit over the last two games.
"At the Garden, I'm just trying to be the fan favorite right now," Pietrus said. "I'm not going to lie to you guys. I was on the opposing team and they hated me. So, now they've got to love me now. So I'm just trying to enjoy my time with them. All it takes is a smile on a kid's face. That's what I need, that's what I live for. I live with high energy for those people. So, I've got to give it my best shot."
His hot shooting of late has helped him settle into the exact role Boston was hoping he would play. His barrage of 3-pointers kept Boston alive repeatedly in their loss to the Thunder on Monday, and they helped to nail Toronto's coffin shut on Wednesday. And that's just on the court. Off the court his upbeat personality helps to keep morale high, through both good times and bad. Whether it's high-fiving teammates, requesting a birthday shout-out for his brother Florent who turns 31 today, or pulling practical jokes on reporters before tip-off (he got yours truly with the classic "tap a guy on his right shoulder from his left side"), Pietrus is providing an energetic lift in almost every area for Boston.
Wednesday marked his second consecutive game in double figures off the bench, and in those two games he buried seven of his 13 3-point field goal attempts.
"To be honest with you, I'm just trying to be Mickael Pietrus," he said. "Just trying to enjoy my time, trying to help my teammates the best way I can, and I'll be honest with you, I never look at what I do on the floor as long as at the end of the day my team gets a win -- Mickael Pietrus is happy."
And Pietrus, of course, couldn't resist one final parting message for reporters in the locker room last night.
"I'm sexy and I know it."