Shut. Him. Down.

Something’s obviously bothering him. Look at his rebounds total since coming back. He either has no lift, or isn’t feeling well enough to mix it up inside, but there are lots of 1-2 rebound games now, and before he was one of the best wing rebounders in the NBA. All this recent talk is clearly foreplay to shutdown. Milwaukee has already done it with Bogut. Okafer still hasn’t come back from a strained calf muscle a month ago.

this back and forth talk of shutting it down/not shutting it down kind of sounds like the team is trying to find the right words to make a shut down sound palatable (sp) to themselves and the league.

Just between you and I, I don’t think there is anything organically wrong with Paul…He has fully and totally come to the conclusion that our future is wrapped up in this draft lottery…He is no fool, and, he is a CELTIC…He sees Charlotte tanking, holding Okafor out…He’s no doubt been privy to the proceedure in place to make sure we have as good a shot at a top two as possible…He’s dinged up and weary; he’s taken a lot of charges and bruises, but needs something substantial to shut it down…Anybody with any sense of the game at all could see that clearly in his demeanor while he was sitting out the debacle the other day…It’s his head as much as his body needs rest…This whole business of positioning in the draft, etc., is totally foreign to him, and one the competitive level, he’s disgusted that he needs be part of it…
It would be nice actually to see that the stress reaction has heated up a bit and he could be legitimately shut down…He not only needs the rest, but deserves it…
If, however, the MRI shows no inflamation or danger, he should play (sparingly) only because he is contracted to do so and there are a whole lot of season ticket holders and family dads who want to experience a Celtics game and Paul Pierce is definitely the Celtic there most interested in seeing (presently). It’s part of the package that comes with professionalism…You hire on to provide the fans with competition and sportsmanship…In turn, you become exceedingly wealthy…That’s the way the game is played…period.
Of course this doesn’t mean that the coach might not “Tinker” a bit…Wink-Wink; Nudge-Nudge…All the coaches and GM’s in the world does not a player make…

I think we are all making too much of this. And if you’ve followed PP for his entire career we should know he is an emotional person and often responds emotionally to situations. This is one of them and thus his opposing comments on this issue. His responses are candid for his thinking at the moment the question is asked and I think he is conflicted over this issue. He certainly has his best interests to consider, but I also think he is considering the best interests of the team. If a decision is made soon I hope we won’t dissect it to death and come up with all the conspiracy theories if it’s decided he will shut it down. Personally I think he should stop playing now and be in good health to be able to assume his summer workout routine as soon as possible and be completely ready for next year.

Oh forgot. PP’s performance in the first half vs Dallas did not look to me like a player who is quitting. He did what had to be done and took a beating for it. To me, Josh Howard should have been thrown out of the game. And if you’re talking about leadership by example that was as good a lesson as any I’ve seen.

Just sit him down – he’s been banged up and need to rest…if he plays on an 80% foot, then he’s more likely to make his knee, hip…etc less than 100%.

THE TEAM WILL NOT BENEFIT long run or short by having him play right now.

He is risking further (possibly long term) injury, guys like GG REALLY need the minutes right now, plus PP in the line up gives us a chance most nights against most teams. Also the more wins we get, the more likely Doc comes back and ruins next season.

shut him down and lets go catch those grizzlies

Remember two years ago the immature performance after we lost the playoff series? He was always a baller, now he’s a mature, good man who understands leadership. I’d shut him down. That elbow is becoming chronic. Oden’s stock has gone way up the last two weeks. I’m for the ping pong balls. If I could stomach that Charlotte loss I can lose out and be satisfied watching Gerald post a couple 30 point games and look for him to play D. And, PLEASE, TERMINATE THE CHEERLEADERS. Yes, they are all great looking but this is B-O-S-T-O-N

My brother said something to me last week that made me think. I was talking with him about the Celtics woes and the possibility of a substantial rebound IF we got a top 2 pick. He said that he had no interest in a league where your fate for the next 5-10 years rides on ping pong balls. No other major sports league is like that. He’s right. The salary cap and the restrictions on player movement that result from it have created a system where chance and luck dictate future success. Where would they Spurs be had they not landed Duncan? True, some great players have been taken deeper in the draft, but you still have to guess right, and if you don’t, you’re hosed for years to come — there is no recovery by other means. You have to be awful to get better, or you end up like the Celts for the last 20 years. Good enough to miss out on the top tier players in the draft.

What do you guys think?

Just go back and look at the toll playing hurt took on both Bird and McHale. At least those two played hurt because the Celtics were in the hunt for a championship, but at this point, why risk permanent damage to Pierce with a team that is merely playing out the string in a disastorous season .

PP should take the rest of the season off. I wanted to see how we measured up against Mavs and Spurs and now that’s over with. Shut him down Danny!

I think we have got something with DWest,RR in the backcourt with KP, AJ in the front court. We need to know if GG is the sure thing or a permanent tease, so I am ready to take a chance and play him. Best case scenario he start playing good basketball consistently, worst case scenario his value drops like a rock on a pond….but lets roll the dice and find out if he is worth holding to.

 He should shut it down for the reason he can take sometime off and get healthy. If he is going to be with the Celtics for the next few years he needs to get into better shape. He needs to lose about 10 lbs to get back in top shape for next year.

greenkite71:

tbh i think that the NBA system is the best in the world. Take a look at European soccer where the system puts no restriction on player movement and there is no salary cap. The result is that a Russian billionaire goes to Englang, buys Chelsea (middle of the road premiere league club) and pumps massive money into the club. They go on a huge shopping spree and are now winning everything from the english premiere league to the champions league (ie top club in all of europe). All because the owner doesnt care about making a profit/loss and is willing to pump hundreds of millions into the club PER YEAR.

Before that each club was restricted by how much money it had.. so basically it was restricted by how large its supporter base was and how good a development program they had. The really rich clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid mostly buy the best players from smaller clubs for many millions cos these clubs have got large revenue from tv deals as they have huge supporter base and everyone wants to watch them as they have the best players. (and cos they do well in the champions league which pays the clubs big $)

The smaller(poorer) clubs cant compete against the big clubs so the better ones have really good development programs (like ajax amsterdam for example) for young talent and then sell the players to support the club once there is high demand for them.

I personally think the draft system and especially one with a lottery is very good. Sure you need to be quite lucky to get #1, or #2 pick but it still doesnt guarantee you will get a franchise player. MANY players have gone #1 that have been terrible in the NBA and so talent evaluation skills are very important and the quality of a drafted player depends on the skill of the GM and staff. Remeber that not every #1 turns out to be Duncan or Shaq.

I also like the lottery system as it reduces the amount of blatant tanking.

Look at it this way, if there was no restriction on player movement and salary caps then Dallas, Lakers, NY and the other teams with RISH owners or with huge markets would be dominating. And teams from smaller cities would struggle.

00dc2:

Point taken, but I think you’re missing one of my biggest points. Talent evaluation is critical to any sport, but in the NBA, a bad draft (either through just bum luck or bad scouting) can doom your team for years and years. Bias in 87 cost the Celts at least a few more championships, and set the stage for mediocrity in the 90s. Pitino drafting Mercer at #6. There is no recovery.

Compare this with the situation in baseball. The draft is critical, but there is talent to be found deep in the draft (how many second rounders or undrafted players make the NBA?). A few misses on picks in the MLB draft don’t kill your team — you have five other picks that might work out. In the NBA you have to be the farm on a 19 or 20 year old kid who might not work out. If you’re wrong, maybe you’ll be bad enough to be high in the lottery next year. If you’re only partly wrong, you’ll be good enough to miss the best picks and you’ll keep drawing adequate talent. Adequate enough to keep you in mediocrity. Like the Celtics. For the last 20 years.

Hey, I just thought of another strategy! If you can find a horrible coach, you can stink and keep drafting top picks for a few years. Maybe Danny is an evil genius! OK, I’ve changed my mind — we’ve got to keep Doc for 2 more years.

Shut him dowm. and get a look at the kids on tye bubble. Ray. telfair, powe, Gomes qnd west Give gerald the ball to shoot and to play some defense. the rest of the way. Rest perk and Al whenever possible.

if you want your club to be better than another club it needs to be deserved. Why should the celtics be better than the knicks? It has to be deserved…

Boston must have better talent evaluation, better fundamentals coaching staff, better game coaching staff, better trainers, better tradition of team (winning) orientated basketball…

apart from loosing top picks to the grim reaper, Boston has been shite cos they have not moved the ball on offense in the last 10 years. Our offense has consisted of everyone standing around watching pierce go 1 on 1 or 2 or 3.. And he’s been brilliant enough to let us be a mediocre team for ages. But that doesn’t develop the team or let us be bad enough to get low picks.

I am happy to see that we are now moving the ball a lot more as PP trusts the team more as he has seen the kids get better (while he’s been injured). AND i think Boston can win #17 WITH PP because PP is the type of player who can impose his will on a game in the last 10 minutes (ala MJ)(Which is what most big games come down to) but we need a few more critical pieces (PG C) before we can put PP in a situation where he can lead us to the promised land..

what a joke

greenkite71, Red Auerbach is to blame for most of this. Because of his brilliance, rules were made to lead the league to PARITY or in other words, mediocrity. More to blame are owners who pay players more than they are worth, thus making better players ask for more and more money.
The agents are also a big part of this. Their greed force many players to do things they probably don’t want to. It will be interesting to see what comes of the negotiations for an extension for Jefferson. Al is a better player than Dalembert and Dampier and is getting better. Those guys, I believe are getting around $10 mill/year. If we are forced to pay Al that amount, and he’s worth it compared to the marketplace, it hurts our chances to sign other players unless the owners chose to go into the luxury tax, which I doubt they will and I don’t think they should. And speaking of the Luxury Tax, this undoes everything that the league is trying to do to get parity. When you have owners like Cuban and the Knicks people who’ll spend a fortune to buy players.