I respect Pierce’s talent completely. He’s been one of the NBA’s stone scorers for years. There have been few like him in his ability to score from anywhere. I get that.

But over these last 4 games he has shot 34%, and averaged 1.75 FTA and 3 REB. The guys he’s been checking have killed him.

And he’s getting a free pass.

I don’t get it, and I’ve not gotten it for years. 

As someone who’s followed the Celtics since 1957, I know Celtics history as well as anyone. As someone who has coached up to the professional level overseas, I know basketball at least as well as the average fan.   

So I really don’t understand why Pierce is perceived as Mr. Celtic and never gets called out for his own bad play. 

He is totally indifferent to his own turnovers and refuses to chase down his own mistakes, instead addictively checking the overhead screen. He gesticulates to teammates after his own mistakes (a pass to Lee’s shoe-tops comes to mind). He takes way too many bad shots. He ends too many isolations by reversing into a double teamer, falling backwards and throwing slow, weak, bail-out passes. He’s at least nonchalant about closing out three-point shooters. He never cuts hard and never gets out ahead of the ball in transition. And if you say you saw him once or twice do that, remember, the exception proves the rule.

When he’s good he says HE was giving the game what it needed; when he’s bad he says WE need to be more consistent, get on the same page, WE need to look in the mirror. What’s with that?  

But perhaps most infuriatingly of all, really, is hearing him, Paul Pierce, singular among ALL Celtic luminaries, routinely refer to himself as a “great” player. It just kills me when I know that not a ONE of the numbers in the rafters EVER said that of himself even ONCE. Nor did they ever speak of their jerseys being retired before the announcement had been made. Pierce has done it countless times. He really thinks of himself as a legitimate peer of the great Celtics.

Fact is, he’s won one championship, the same number as Garnett, Allen, and Rondo. And the same number as Davis, T. Allen, Perkins, House, etc. Maybe, if he’d been able to defend James a little better last year, it might have been two. Maybe, if he hadn’t disappeared in game 6 versus Orlando, he’d have been in another final. But he has one championship. 

I can almost understand how his own inflated sense of self just cannot take ownership in any of this present mess.

But why has no one else, in the act of pointing fingers at EVERYONE ELSE, pointed one at him, the Captain?

he should be 6th man..I dont think he is a starter anymore..is like Ray last year..he was better coming of the bench

Rondo, Green, Pierce, Sullinger, and KG.

In response to Kirk6's comment:

Fixed!!!

 

 PP & KG off the bench!!!!

Green, who I love as a big Georgetown fan, just does NOT have Pierce's fire (nor his ability to shoot short jumpers or go to his left).   I'd give Green more minutes, but Pierce needs to start (or start Green in place of Bass).

Not start KG?  Have you seen the Celtics play this year when KG wasn't on the floor?   We go from bad to unwatchable!

I think Paul gets a pass for two reasons. One, he toiled away his prime on a crappy team, much as KG did; both of them more or less kept their heads down and certainly did not demand trades. Second, until proven otherwise he still can hit key shots in crunch time; much as the (not so) dearly departed Ray Allen could do.Does the guy have the class or the motor of Hondo, nyet; the game of Bird, nyet; the fire of Cowens, nyet; does he even belong in the same sentence as Russel, nyet. Yet, despite his shortcomings to those who came before him, for the last 15 years he has been Mr. Celtic, so it goes. Don't forget, Paul hails from LA and you know, you can take the baller out of Inglewood, but you can't take all of Inglewood out of the baller.

In response to futbal's comment:

Thanks for the considered response. You make some great points.

I'm still debating as to whether he'd be better doing his work off the bench, primarily against opposing benches, or does he need starters on the floor with him? What do you think? Would he be a good 6th man at this stage?

Nah, I think he's still brings a starters attitude and game, at least when he is on his game. On the West coast swing his shot was so flat it was obvious he and the team where being beat to the peverbial spot on almost every play (just like Denver did to the Clips earlier tonight) so he had no balance, no lift, etc.  Instead, I think they should do what Pop does in San Antonio and just sit him and KG every fourth or fifth game, especially when the schedule gets crowded. The other thing about Paul is that he can't take over as many games nlike he used to be able to do, so when he tries and fails, like he did on the West coast swing, he looks really bad and old and done.  The other guy who plays like Paul is Terry, can really light it up and be fairly lazy on defense (although Paul when he brings it has show to be a truly great defender), Terry is more of an anticipator who I think will do better playing with a pressure guard like Bradely or Lee than with Rondo, who also is an anticipator.

Pierce is the elephant in the room and that is why he needs help. We have to get a big man who can help both KG and Pierce.  Pierce gets the ball now and three guys are slapping away at him.  They know nobody else wants the ball.

You're mostly way off but there is a grain of truth. 

If Jeff Green was any good then I think there would be momentum to start him in front of Pierce and have Pierce lead the second unit, just as the move was made with Bradley and Ray Allen last year. Unfortunately Green is mostly a stiff so there is no one to start ahead of Pierce. 

The biggest elephant in the room is Green but with a team this full of holes and old guys and parts that don't fit and folks not playing hard there is much blame to go around. 

you know, if i had a dimwitted GM like ainge that handed me SLOP of a roster to "try to win it all one more time with", i'd be angry too.  this team has all the hallmarks of a team that is tired to DEATH of their likewise dimwitted coach- another thing that can be a real grind on you in the workplace.

but this is no ordinary workplace and that's where pierce becomes at fault.  he pockets $15M for 82 games worth of performances.  i don't care if bozo the clown is his GM and phyllis diller is the coach- you have to have pride in yourself and the game as a whole.

and referring to himself in the third person and as a 'great player' while not hustling, not showing much heart, etc- not excusable.  i can SEE his frustration with doc, danny and also RONDO for rondo forcing the team into either pierce takes over the ball and tries to create something or watch rondo run the clock out at the top of the key and then dump the ball on someone.  that is tiresome. 

but that is when a GREAT PLAYER gets in the face of rondo, doc and ainge and tells them that the three dollar bill point guard act isn't working.  it's not working for the whole team!

I've been a PP fan since the Walker days and have been a Celtic fan since the 60's. Paul has been a player that has carried the Celtics so many times, through good and bad. Now he is getting older and wiser? waiting on a team that might gel or might not. In the mean time he is biding his time, pacing himself and awaiting the final push to again get it all. Smart, considerate, crafty and adept.. he waits for April. Thanks Paul for all you have done!!! Rest as we all anticipate.

Gary

 

In response to futbal's comment:

Acie:  I don't know WTF you're talking about.  Your post made zero sense.  Pierce stinks.  A TOTAL liabilitiy.  Nobody makes him dribble into traffic on three of four possessions to end the first half against Memphis.  Not Danny, not Doc, not Rondo.  The guy is a HAS BEEN.  It happens to all great players.  He could afford to be be a bonehaed when he had some atheletic ability in the tank.  Now it's gone.  Time for him to slide into a backup role.

If you bench Pierce and KG...might as well become a lottery team.

In response to darkman20's comment:

That's precisely my thinking. I'd unload them, if I could get any takers and totally start over. I'd probably go for a new GM as well.

In response to shines01's comment:

what i'm talking about is that when you are a veteran of pierce's age and you get handed a fake bill of sale on a roster by your GM, it can be ...  disheartening.  some games pierce has looked washed to the maximum and others he has played better than that.  he is definitely slowing down. 

but g'head and watch him slow down and operate like a square wheel with doc rivers at the helm and out of control rogue idiot rondo running the team into the ground instead of taking the young guys we have and creating some tempo hurry up and break chances for this team to get much needed easy points. 

pierce has never had to work harder for his points in the "big three" era than right now...  how does that actually compute to you?  it's the TRUTH, now isn't it?  how do we manage to get worse and worse with time instead of better?  shouldn't rondo's game be progressing and he be taking over this team instead of foisting all scoring responsibility on pierce and KG?

obviously you're not too bright to be able to see what's right in front of your face.  as veterans get older, you have to ask less of them and give them more supporting cast.  we are asking more of pierce now and the supporting cast that was brought in is NOT working out well.  a key member is back in russia.  and 100% of the rest of them are stinking up the joint.

 

those results are a/k/a coaching and GM issues.  you can fix the coach issue easily enough- get another one.  then you have that coach go about trying to fix the rondo problem.  i feel like an kindegarten instructor on here- i mean honestly?  did any of you people watch the great celts teams of the 70s and 80s????  this sort of offense we have going was NEVER TRIED for a good reason!!!  we never had or KEPT point guards that were offensive LIABILITIES.  we never were unconditionally married to coaches, and AS TEAMS AGED, the coaches CHANGED ACCORDINGLY........

look at us now.  stop being moronic blinded homers and wake up

stop being moronic blinded homers

HAHAHA

What happened to you, acie? Were you abused when you were a child?

Sorry Acie, I still don't follow what you're on about.  Paul Pierce just stinks now.  You are saying Pierce stinks because Danny Ainge tricked him?  Are you mental?