Paul Pierce Revisited

It seems to me he is hurting. He moves much slower than the Paul we know. He would never let this be known, but he is clearly not healthy.

I am worried. I haven`t seen him play this bad since the losing season. He looks really tired, all those huge minutes he had to play in the regular season are catching up to him…

Hopefully he starts playing better because we need him badly…

HIs offensive game is significantly impacted by the absence of KG — at least as far as the playoffs are concerned. Half of his game is getting to the hole and Chicago is focusing their defense on him trying to take that away — and Noah is a very effective help defender.

Ray’s game isn’t quite as impacted because he’s a long range bomber and he probably shoots better with a hand in his face than not. But the Bulls are playing Pierce for the drive and it has been an effective tactic to date. As we’ve heard Doc state in the huddle, he needs to trust his teammates and not try to do it all himself.

All that said, if Davis had made his layups or they had fouled when they were up 3 near the end of the first OT, they’d have won the game.

Come on guys… He was 8/9 from the line. yes he missed a FT…Even if he had made, Bulls still could have tied with a 3. Instead they were only up 2 and then Gordon went 1/2 from the line before Allen hit his 3. No one brings up the fact the ray missed a FT earlier. Also, Bulls were uncharacteristically very poor at the line. They missed 6 FT’s in the 4th quarter!!

I agree with the early post that the game was lost with the missed layups by Davis and also a few missed “shorties” by perkins in the 4th quarter.

The celtuics had atleast a half dozen “gimmies”…which they missed. Granted the Bulls defense could cause you to miss a couple…but all?? Thats where the loss came from.

He had the injury between game 3 and 4? Pierce was also pretty unimpressive in the 1st round last season. Was he also tired then?

He’s in a funk. It’s not he 1st this season. He’s ageing, these kind of periods will become more and more frequent.

I’ve been getting so annoyed with Paul’s shot decisions, of late. I feel like I am watching the pre-big3 Pierce all over again. Taking deep shots with 3 guys in his face. Not making the extra pass. Sluggish, Sluggish, Sluggish! I know his heart is in the right place, he just needs to pass the ball to the baseline more. Give the ball to Big baby. We don’t stand a chance with Pierce trying to carry the team. Doc needs to stop this! I’d much rather see Ray Allen in that position. He makes much better shot choices, and passes when he doesn’t get the shot he’s looking for. The other day, we were up by 7, and there’s Paul, takin’ a 3 with 4 hands in his face, almost air-balling it. I almost through my TV out the window!! I think everyone in the league has caught on to his drive-to-the-hoop-get-the-foul trick, and he’s not fooling anyone anymore. He needs to pass the ball more. PASS THE BALL PAUL!!!!

but let’s not get carried away. The biggest thing to consider right now is that Rondo is not only playing at a different level, but he is also playing differently than he ever has. Rondo is averaging a whopping 23.3 ppg as well as a triple-double. While this is great, it is not normal. Pierce is not in the flow of the offense right now, period. He has to adjust to Rondo’s play more than anyone else on the floor. Additionally, Pierce is being defended very well. I understand the concerns with Pierce, but he is in no way responsible for that loss. A simple foul on Salmons at the end of the first overtime would have ended that game. The fact that Ray Allen was not told to foul, and that I (a non professional) was screaming at my TV for it to happen, has to fall on Doc. That was a colossal mistake. Pierce is still averaging 23.5 ppg, and he kept Salmons at an even more dismal 5-14. Pierce had a great game 3 and Chicago did a great job at adjusting. What I saw many times was PP driving, getting hacked, and no foul being called. I normally try to keep my comments away from the direction of officiating, but this series has had its fair share of game-changing calls. I think the refs could swallow the whistles for the last two minutes of these tight contests and just let the teams play it out. As far as the Celts are concerned, I’d like to see more aggression from everyone. Additionally, Doc should know what is coming; they’re going to pick for Rose so that he is in a switch with Perk. TA needs to play more minutes in an attempt to get Chicago’s bigs in foul trouble early. If TA is anything, he is aggressive, and draws an unusually high amount of fouls. The mantra needs to be attack, attack, attack!

I’m a big believer in Paul and I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt. He certainly earned that respect in last year’s playoffs. I will never again question his heart.

Unfortunately, this is not last year’s playoffs.

I think Pierce is still dealing with his dislocated thumb problem he suffered during the season….probably makes it very hard to properly grip the ball when he shoots.

Great basketball. Let’s enjoy it until it ends this season. Next year’s roster will be very different. This just may be a transition year, and we don’t realize it. The 3 year window project was completed last year. We may have 3 senior citizens on our hands now, with the new kids starting to take command sooner rather than later. Paul has some more play in him, and I certainly put him up with some of the other Celtics greats, and we will raise his number to the rafters at some point. Enjoy the passing of the torch to Rondo, Big Baby, Perkins and….Walker? Someone Danny will find in the draft? Again?

Imagine having Pierce, KG and Ray coming off the bench for 15-20 minutes each, after a bunch of young guys run the opponent’s starting team right of the court.