Paul Pierce Is Good At Guarding LeBron
by Jeff Clark on Apr 28, 2011 9:20 PM EDT
in Boston Celtics News & Links
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Nice statistical look at the book on guarding the Miami Heat, including this blurb about Paul Pierce's defense on LeBron.
The book on LeBron James vs. Boston - Heat Index Blog - ESPN
According to Newmann and Oliver, Pierce checked LeBron 69 percent of the time, with Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green and Marquis Daniels (no longer with the team) filling in the rest. But against Pierce, LeBron shot just 43 percent from the field and his efficiency plummeted to depths rarely seen from him. In fact, LeBron scored 75 points per 100 possessions with Pierce covering him, down from his 93 points per 100 possessions when guarded by all other Celtics defenders.
Not going to label Pierce with the term "LeBron Stopper" because he's still going to get his points, but it is nice to know that the stats back up what we've all seen: Pierce gives James as hard a time as anyone.
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Paul Pierce is amazing.
Who the hell starts a rivalry with LeBron James at 30 years old? And LeBron James recognizes the rivalry. P234 is just amazing.
And1
Yes he is amazing. I was pleased and surprised to hear Lebron acknowledge it as one of the classic rivalrys and that Pierce was one of top three closers in the league with him and Kobe.
by Warrior Spirit on Apr 29, 2011 12:13 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Now that was the truth lolz
Celtics 4-0 Bonkers (Bye An-Tony)
Boston _-_ Miami (Rondo, bring your extinguisher!)
Celtics _-_ Chi (Sugar Ray will send us to the dentist)
Eastern Conference, that's our focus...
___________________________________________
Boston Celtics Future 2011 Finals Winners
(Boston Celtics) BOS 1-1 LAF (Los Angeles Fakers)
by OttawaCeltic on Apr 29, 2011 6:43 AM EDT up reply actions
I still remember last year playoffs
He contain him pretty well, and I remember when he quitted his team. What a looser he needs two superstars to try to win a championship.
Pierce needed two superstars also.
The difference is, Pierce wasn’t widely regarded as one of the two best players in the league.
Sort of
Pierce also slugged it out for the Celtics for 10 years before teaming up with KG and Ray. You might argue that Ray and maybe even KG were no longer in their prime when they joined the Celtics. The equivalent would have been these guys joining up in 2003. Think of the 2006 versions of the Celtics big three going up against the Heat three from this season. I think the Heat would get destroyed.
Interesting point.
Agreed, our 3 in their prime (assuming they buy into TEAM would crush the heatlets. Alas I love our chances even with our aging lions.
by Warrior Spirit on Apr 29, 2011 12:10 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Pierce did need two superstars.
The big difference is Pierce ALWAYS gave his all. I don’t ever remember him quitting.
when it comes to guarding the other team's best SG or SF
Pierce is the man, he’s the best at guarding Lebron or Kobe, that’s one of the big reasons he got the finals MVP in 08. On the other side of that, the guy that guards Pierce the best is not Kobe (he only thinks he does) but Artest.
Yea to the part of guarding lebrick
but did you ever hear about Battier, Antoine Wright, Tony Allen, Luol Deng, or Earl Boykins (lol)?
Celtics 4-0 Bonkers (Bye An-Tony)
Boston _-_ Miami (Rondo, bring your extinguisher!)
Celtics _-_ Chi (Sugar Ray will send us to the dentist)
Eastern Conference, that's our focus...
___________________________________________
Boston Celtics Future 2011 Finals Winners
(Boston Celtics) BOS 1-1 LAF (Los Angeles Fakers)
by OttawaCeltic on Apr 29, 2011 6:54 AM EDT up reply actions
out of those guys you mentioned
Artest is the best at guarding Pierce at a playoff situation, Deng is a good second, the other guys haven’t guarded PP in the playoffs yet and probably never will
Celtics underdog in the series????
All the ESPN analysts pick Miami to win the series. Some even think it will just go to just 5 games. They’ve been wrong all along before and they ALL got it wrong again this time.
Jim Rome
Rome picked the C’s yesterday saying that the things the Heat are really good at, the C’s defense can take away from them. Also noting that if the Heat play the way they did to get past Philadelphia, then that’s not likely going to cut it.
didn't 3 ESPN guys pick the celtics?
I know legler and even the heat blogger Windhorst picked the celtics.
"Take it to the hoop, there's a dance involved." - DJ Tommy
That would be very surprising indeed.
by Warrior Spirit on Apr 29, 2011 12:15 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
it's going to be PP Vs Lebron...
..and the refs too. the moment pp breaths on lebrick, Foul!!!
+1
Celtics 4-0 Bonkers (Bye An-Tony)
Boston _-_ Miami (Rondo, bring your extinguisher!)
Celtics _-_ Chi (Sugar Ray will send us to the dentist)
Eastern Conference, that's our focus...
___________________________________________
Boston Celtics Future 2011 Finals Winners
(Boston Celtics) BOS 1-1 LAF (Los Angeles Fakers)
by OttawaCeltic on Apr 29, 2011 6:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Should be playing Atlanta instead of Miami if not for the late season collapse
Pierce is one of the best at guarding Lebron because he is still quick enough but more importantly one of the stronger small forwards in the NBA. He can withstand the punishment Lebron dishes out on smaller and weaker players. The only problem is that Pierce can wear out having to guard Lebron over the course of a long series. And Jeff Green hasn’t given much hope that he can contain Lebron so it’s going to be interesting to see how Pierce holds up.
Celtics should beat Miami but their late season swoon looks to be costly right about now. No doubt the C’s would love to be getting read for a 2nd round matchup against the Hawks instead of the Heat…
Rivers went on to dismiss the idea that this in any way resembles last season's sleepwalking through the final months of the regular season (when star players were shut down due to injuries, leading to multiple late-season losses).
"Nothing like this," said Rivers. "Last year I shut them down. They were injured. They’re not injured. They’re not playing well."
Late season collapse?
Would you not expect when you bring in 5 new players and 3 bak from injury late in the season all needing to learn the system and each other? Stumbling should be expected.
by Warrior Spirit on Apr 29, 2011 12:18 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
DEFENSE
I would be feeling much better if Quis were still around.
Hopefully, Doc (and KG) have made some magic this week in practice.
Paul's been a rock all season
What did he have this year?… two, maybe three bad games? The guy’s been unbelievably reliable. Like a rock.
All matchups work out fine for the Cs. The coming series comes down to one player: Rajon Rondo. Miami has no answer for him. It’s probably always true… but in this series it will absolutely be true that as Rondo goes, so go the Celtics.
Jermaine
I’m not sure they have an ‘answer’ to Jermaine, either – and I’m not talking about offense.
Jermaine could have a huge effect in terms of taking away drives to the hoop.
He’ll need to stay on the floor longer than the 14 minutes he got in the last game, though.
"We will take it easy, and walk on down our road at our pace with our focus ahead, and your focus on us." - Warrior Spirit, on what Celtics' Ubuntu is.
JO is getting his legs back.
He’s looked really good. God willing his knees hold up (I think they will; maybe this surgery was what he needed all along). After Rondo, I think JO is the second most important player in this series for us.
Could be. If healthy, he's way better than any C they can put on the floor.
Do not be surprised if Miami uses LBJ & Wade to try to get JO in foul trouble. He’s going to have to be quick and set and take charges.
"We will take it easy, and walk on down our road at our pace with our focus ahead, and your focus on us." - Warrior Spirit, on what Celtics' Ubuntu is.
Gerald Wallace
What a game for Gerald Wallace tonight in a losing effort. Really wish Danny could have picked him up for the playoff run as he is just what the Celtics could use off the bench.
Wallace is a great defender at multiple positions, a great rebounder, solid scorer with a tough, aggressive nature -- or what we all hope Jeff Green will turn into at some point in the near future…
Rivers went on to dismiss the idea that this in any way resembles last season's sleepwalking through the final months of the regular season (when star players were shut down due to injuries, leading to multiple late-season losses).
"Nothing like this," said Rivers. "Last year I shut them down. They were injured. They’re not injured. They’re not playing well."
celtics vs heat
i think the two teams will play hard to advance for the eastern conference finals and if u analyze the two teams the possess arsenal in thier respective possession.however if u look closely the heat has younger and talented players but the celtics has the edge when in comes to tactics and execution.its really a game to watch because for me this will be worthy to watch in the coming days.alls been said and done the i believe my team the BOSTON CELTICS WILL PREVAIL. GO CELTICS GO…..
Now now...
Let’s not let this one get out of hand. :)
great analysis
Lebron will get his points because he’s going to make sure he gets to take his “fair” share of shots. What the C’s have done to him (much thanks to Pierce) is to make him rely on an outside shot and make him second guess about driving inside. I see no reason why the C’s won’t keep his percentages down. The media loves to hype a player’s points at the end of the game but the C’s often beat teams with high scoring players because that very player may have scored thirty but shot thirty percent from the field. The more shots Lebron takes, the easier it is for the C’s to win.
Pierce...
has great defensive skills and the right type of body build to guard Lebron.
Being 6’7’ and weighing 235 pounds he has the length and bulk to play Lebron physically and slow him down.
I also think though Jeff Green is not a great defensive player, being 6"9" and 235 pounds he also has the length and muscle to help defend Lebron a bit…a lot better I might add then undersized Quis who was only 6"6’ and weighed only 200 pounds.
Also lets not forget Pavolvic… if Lebron gets Pierce and Green in foul trouble at points in the series (which is possible) Pavlovic may be needed to defend him in spot duty and since he is a physical player and has size and length at 6’7" and 235 pounds he may come in handy at some point in the series.
you LOVE the term LENGTH.. You use it a lot! Lol.. Just my observation.. You always covet a strong LONG player
I bet James Posey was one of your favorite players
True...
I do love length ..as well as size in NBA players.
Not only in big men, but in wing players also.
I do no doubt think basketball skills are vital in NBA players, but I really think when a talented player also is gifted physically with length and size it just makes him that much better a basketball player.
Yes…I liked Posey alot due to his length and size and think that it in addition to his overall skill level, it made a very decent player.
Ever since the C’s lost Posey 2 years ago, I was hoping (and posted often) the C’s would acquire a backup 3 with skills, length and size and that is why I was happy to see the C’s acquire Jeff Green because he I think has all that.
I think my addiction to length and size in NBA players (especially in the case of the Celtics) started when I was a kid growing up and watching all those 80’s Celtic teams.
Those Celtic teams usually had alot of size and length, which I liked alot personally and I guess I have been hooked on this fetish ever since then….lol.
they don't grow em like they used too
noticed a lot of players in the 90’s were more stockier and undersized than in the 80’s, that trend continued till now, we have a lot of bulky undersized PF’s in the league, when you get that lean 6’11 or 7 footer with a long wingspan and skills show up, it’s like a miracle, back in the 80’s, a lot of guys were naturally like that, even guys in the SG/SF were long and lean.
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