A win-win situation
Pierce scoring some rest with Celtics rolling along
The games are piling up for the Celtics, and so are the victories.
Paul Pierce realized the Celtics had not lost for some time, noting after an 89-84 win at Charlotte Saturday: "We've won six, seven in a row."
Make that eight, by an average of 12.5 points going into tonight's game against Orlando at TD Banknorth Garden.
But who's counting?
The Celtics seem disconnected from most statistics, almost purely concerned with their quality of play and preserving themselves for another long ride.
The last week and a half has illustrated how greatly Pierce's role has changed since last season's arrival of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Instead of having to carry the Celtics on offense, Pierce has been dishing off, acting as a high-profile decoy, or resting on the bench. He shot 6 for 14 and had 19 points against the Bobcats, only the second time in six games his field goal attempts have been in double digits. Before Saturday's game, Pierce averaged 11.8 points in five victories, the Celtics winning by 18, 17, 15, 8, and 24. Then, Pierce was called on for a late-game salvation project, producing 8 points and an assist in the final 3:56 of Saturday's victory.
So, a different go-to guy every night?
"It's working for us," Pierce said. "We've been playing well, why change up? I know what I'm capable of any given night, so I'm a constant threat on the floor. If I get a chance to sit for a quarter and the bench can close out games, or play 25 minutes and we can win the game, that's definitely luxurious. Because, earlier in my career I played 40-45 minutes for the team to even have a chance. Hopefully, this will extend my career."
Pierce was composed and confident as the pace turned hectic against the Bobcats, the Celtic starters reunited for a 14-11 run in the final 5:25. It also helped that Pierce had a 6-inch height advantage in mismatches against Bobcat guards; he simply took the ball as close to the lane as possible and forced them to either back away or foul. And that was a strategic advantage for the Celtics, since Pierce has shot only 2 for 16 on 3-pointers in the last six games.
"One thing you know with Paul, he's going to get his shot off," coach Doc Rivers said. "Nothing is going to excite him, he's going to take his time. That's just who he is - he has great composure and tempo. I think all of our guys are that way, sometimes to a fault. If Paul and Ray have it going, Kevin kind of defers; the other two, the other one defers."
Pierce played a team-high 38 minutes against the Bobcats, only the third time he has played more than 28 minutes in the last six contests.
"Doc's [controlling] our minutes," Pierce said. "He's doing a great job of giving us days off, because we're not getting any younger and it's important, after a long season last year, we get our rest. Because we understand it's a marathon, not a sprint.
"We're going to get better. We tried to figure each other out a year ago, and we kind of learned on the fly. We know each other a lot better now. And we don't care who gets the credit, as long as we win the game. Hopefully, we can stay healthy, that's going to be huge. Last year we had healthy bodies going into the playoffs."
Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com. 