22 replies to this topic

[Curtis Pride]

I know it's early in the season, but statistically Paul Pierce is having his worst season in his career so far. However, the only change from the last five years and this one has been his shooting percentage, and by extension his points per game. If he made just 2 more shots per game, his stats line would be similar to his last five seasons. Will he be able to improve his shooting, or is he going to be mediocre for the rest of his career? Does he still have something left in the tank?

[Koufax]

At the moment his game is far, far worse than it has ever been. He is not moving the way he used to. He almost avoids contact, rather than relishing it as he has done in the past. He seems to be out of shape. I expect that his shooting will come around. But unless he gets quicker and more energetic, he will be a shadow of his former self. If it is merely conditioning, then shame on him.

Edited by Koufax, 21 January 2012 - 08:59 AM.

[irishtap03]

He's hurt. That is the answer in a nutshell. The heel injury is still a bother and with so many games in such a short time he can't recover. It's happening all over the league. Due to the bad start they can't rest him but he needs a week to two weeks off and conditioning.

[smastroyin]

Yes, shame on him if it is merely conditioning, and also shame on every other player who 33+ because almost all of them look like shit this year. Even Kobe who has had some good games has basically been a straight up jump shooter this year, he is not penetrating very often and is avoiding contact on both ends.

This is a young man's game and the 66 game schedule is a young man's schedule. KG looks just as bad. I think we all knew this team was in trouble when they announced the schedule and the fast track to playing on Xmas. For the C's to compete, it would have been better for them to have a full training camp and 45ish game schedule starting around now. Oh well.

Pierce also had a foot injury. Part of me wonders whether he would even be playing if Jeff green were healthy. Because he doesn't look comfortable running, moving laterally, or pivoting. Could be age and conditioning, could be the injury.

(and just as an aside, this is what really pisses me off about the compromise, the players and the league basically said "let's try to grab as much money out of this shit season as we can, even if it affects the product on the court.")

[Rudy Pemberton]

Smas nails it. They forced it to start the season on Christmas, and the product has suffered. Certainly it sucks as a C's fan, but I was excited for the season to start and have found the level of play to be signifcantly worse than last year. Scoring is down and a lot of games just appear to be mailed in. Teams were not ready, and many will never recover this year. It's really a disservice to the players, and fans.

[Koufax]

If it is an injury, they should sit him. They are losing with him, they can lose without him.

Edited by Koufax, 21 January 2012 - 10:20 AM.

[HomeRunBaker]

He's hurt. That is the answer in a nutshell. The heel injury is still a bother and with so many games in such a short time he can't recover. It's happening all over the league. Due to the bad start they can't rest him but he needs a week to two weeks off and conditioning.

Exactly.

Pierce didn't have a training camp and is injured so part of the deal with these two factors is that he is going to have to play himself into shape. I'd say the money is on Pierce's heel getting worse before it gets better and he shuts it down at some point.

To pin this season on Pierce is irresponsible.

(and just as an aside, this is what really pisses me off about the compromise, the players and the league basically said "let's try to grab as much money out of this shit season as we can, even if it affects the product on the court.")

No different than any other conglomerate. We shouldn't expect anything different.

Edited by HomeRunBaker, 21 January 2012 - 10:38 AM.

[smastroyin]

No different than any other conglomerate. We shouldn't expect anything different.

Oh, I didn't expect any different. I'm still pissed that they met my expectations. Of course, I'm also a fan of a very old team.

[Hendu's Gait]

He had the yips today at the FT line during crunch time. Painful. I hope Ray Ray comes back soon so I don't have to decide whether to trust PP at the end of games.

[smastroyin]

24 points, 10 Assists. 19/7 in the second half. With no Rondo he has to basically run the offense. A crappy first half but basically willed the C's back in the game in the third and was on the floor for most of the fourth where the C's outscored the Magic 27-8 and we are talking about him missing a couple of FTs when they were up by multiple possessions.

Thus goes Paul Pierce's lot in Boston.

[knucklecup]

He has head scratching, out of control bouts but it's hard to fault him for anything last night.

He was a stud.

[Curtis Pride]

I don't think he had the "yips." I think he was gassed from playing so hard all game.

[CreightonGubanich]

I don't think he had the "yips." I think he was gassed from playing so hard all game.

Yup. Pierce played 44 minutes and all but 23 seconds of the second half. That was a hell of a performance.

[Riles335]

I still think that he is getting his legs which can make his drives to the hoop look bad but there is still a lot of basketball left in his tank. It really angers me to see ESPN anchors talk about how Pierce looks 85 at times even after a performance like last night. It would be hard pressed to find a more impressive performance by anyone in the NBA this year...if you find one, its probably going to be either James or Durant.

[collings94]

I think at the end of the game, Pierce is still our best option to sink a jumper or get to the line. His stats may be down, but I think it's clear that the Celtics don't really care about stats. During these last two games Paul's passed the eye test, which is good enough for me.

[slamminsammya]

It would be hard pressed to find a more impressive performance by anyone in the NBA this year...if you find one, its probably going to be either James or Durant.

Do you really mean this on a night he shot 7/18 from the field and had 5 TO's? Good game, yes, but the most impressive performance in the NBA barring James/Durant? What a homer...

[Riles335]

Do you really mean this on a night he shot 7/18 from the field and had 5 TO's? Good game, yes, but the most impressive performance in the NBA barring James/Durant? What a homer...

I was talking about the second half performance. I can only recall a few performances like James against the Spurs about a week ago that was more impressive than what Pierce did in the 2nd half last night. Not sure if you watched the game or not...

[Koufax]

Pierce was huge again last night. He is coming around, and I am much more hopeful about this club as a result.

[Solder]

Congrats to Paul. 2nd place on the all-time franchise scoring list is pretty remarkable for a guy whose career could have been over very early on.

Thanks for everything #34!

[smastroyin]

He probably won't be enough of a scoring threat going forward to catch Hondo, but it's amazing how close he'll end up coming. He's 4600 points short now and will probably be under 4000 by season end. Assuming he is here next year that will be less than 2500 most likely.

Also, while the rules are not the same and it is really difficult to compare eras, I know a lot of people would get on him for being a chucker on bad teams. But, his 1.36 pts per FG is better than Bird (1.26) and Havlicek (1.10).

[lars10]

Also, while the rules are not the same and it is really difficult to compare eras, I know a lot of people would get on him for being a chucker on bad teams. But, his 1.36 pts per FG is better than Bird (1.26) and Havlicek (1.10).

This is probably directly related to Pierce being 1617/4370 from 3 (7135FG/15939FGA) vs Bird being 649/1727 from 3 (8591/17334)
The 3 point line obviously didn't exist for Havlicek (10513/23930)

[SemperFidelisSox]

Seems unlikely that Pierce will be able to pass Havlicek, but #2 on the Celtics all-time scoring list ain't a bad place to be. He would need to average about 20ppg through the remaining two and a half years left of his deal to have a realistic shot, and at ages 34-36 no less.

But it's not out of the realm of possibility that Pierce can finish somewhere in the Top 15-20 on the NBA all-time scoring list. An amazing accomplishment.

[smastroyin]

OK, so we are about 30 games in and already the game threads are lousy with the Pierce Iso complaints.

But here's the thing. Every time Pierce is handling the ball is not an Iso so stop complaining about it every damn time he touches the ball for more than a catch and shoot. I'm seeing people whining about the Pierce iso when he is already on the dribble and just backing down his man. I have seen people complain about it if he so much as carries the ball across midcourt. I even saw a complaint when he was setting up a pick and pop with Garnett (it was defended well and didn't materialize). Again, I realize that people complain about it so much that it is fun to participate every time he touches the ball, but holy shit it is about ten times more tired than the actual plays where the Celtics choose to execute an Iso.