Mickael Pietrus Is Back and the NBA Is a Better Place Because of It

After suffering a scary fall (and Grade 3 concussion) last month, Mickael Pietrus is back in action for the Boston Celtics. 

Playing nearly 30 minutes in a victory against the Hawks, Pietrus was the player selected for the postgame interview. He did not disappoint. 

Check out Pietrus discussing his return, being over the concussion and of course, shouting out his fans and telling them to follow him on Twitter here, via TBJ:

Pietrus joked about his return with CSSNE.com's Jessica Camerato. Discussing how he got himself ready for his first game back, he said:

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[Pietrus] explains how he “fixed” his brain: “Just take the brain out, make it lift weights, put it on a treadmill, put it back in and fix it.”

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While jokes are what Pietrus is about, he also got serious with ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg, telling him:

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"My next step is to enjoy life," he said. "Life is too short. You saw me on the floor [in Philadelphia], like one minute I was healthy, the next minute I was laid down. To me, right now, it's just enjoy life. I don't think about anything else. Just enjoy my time with my teammates. Just enjoy my time."

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It's so wonderful that Pietrus is back and even more importantly, that he escaped what could have been a much more serious injury. It's important for players to see what he told Forsberg. In a league where a premium is placed on toughing it out, concussions are one thing that need to be taken seriously. When a player like Pietrus gets serious, it makes people listen. 

I'd like to see more guys speak up about the importance of taking time to recover properly from head injuries. They're not going anywhere (see Kevin Love taking an elbow to head in Denver last night), so we need to ensure our athletes understand the seriousness of them so that they are able to follow the lead of Pietrus and shake off any and all lingering effects when they make their return.