Full Court Press: 12/1/04 Part 2
As promised yesterday, here is part 2 of the Full Court Press’ look at Paul Pierce and his role with this team. Note that these comments were made prior to Doc Rivers’ removing Pierce from the game down the stretch for not running, so please don’t hold it against the authors for missing this piece of info.
Kevin:
May 25th, 2002 stands out as the day that Paul Pierces career as a Celtic peaked. On that particular afternoon, Pierce led his team to a historic comeback win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. With his team down by 21 after 3 quarters, Pierce literally took over the game, attacking the basket like a man possessed. When the dust had settled, Pierce had scored 19 points in the fourth and the Celtics had taken the game and a 2-1 series lead. At the time, Pierces future never looked brighter as a blossoming NBA superstar.
Fast forward 2 1/2 years. Gone are Antoine Walker, Eric Williams and Jim OBrien. Essentially replacing them are Raef LaFrentz, Ricky Davis and Doc Rivers. In the face of the massive turnover in personnel, Pierces game has suffered considerably. Poor shot selection and an acute inability to carry his team to victory during crunch time have been the leading indicators, both of which have left Celtics fans to ponder, What the hell has happened to his guy?
Although the details are infinitely more complicated, in essence the answer comes down to one simple word: foxhole. Antoine Walker, for example, despite his well-documented faults, was a consummate foxhole guy. Pierce wanted him by his side when he headed into battle because Walker was fearless when it came to taking big shots and was an effective leader in ways that Pierce could never be. Eric Williams was also a foxhole guy. Although never the most talented player on the floor, he was always the toughest man out there, both physically and mentally. So much so, in fact, that it rubbed off on his teammates. It visibly rubbed off on Pierce, perhaps more than anyone else. Lastly, OBrien was a foxhole guy for Pierce as well, mostly because of their years spent together. Pierce trusted him completely and his play on the court reflected it.
And so a couple of notes to Danny Ainge with regards to your supposed franchise player: Chemistry matters , especially to Paul Pierce. Also, never underestimate the foxhole factor. Its the one element that can make a team better than the sum of its parts.
Daniel:
Paul Pierce has really never had players the caliber of the ones he has right now with him on the Boston Celtics. It will be interesting to watch him develop throughout the season as he continues to learn how to trust the players around him, concentrate on rebounding and eventually not feel as though he always has to make moves off his dribble. He reminds me of Mark Aguirre or Adrian Dantley at their best. He has just had to play out of position for the first half of his career which means he has had to create too much with the dribble.
Pierce has never had a solid point guard on his team unless you count J.R. Bremer and a chain smoking Kenny Anderson (why can’t we get players like that). He has never had a true power forward. No, a month of a sober Vin Baker doesn’t count nor does Eric Williams. He has never had a solid 2 guard despite the presence of a streaky Tony Delk who can’t dribble and a since broken down Ron Mercer. The closest he had to having a player that could adequately catch, shoot, and pass the ball was Antoine Walker and currently he is NBA Siberia for reasons not so unknown. Pierce learned the tricks of the trade under Pitino and O’Brien which someone adequately described recently as the Chuck and Duck offense (can’t remember who or I’d give credit)
So we all want to know what we have right now in Paul Pierce. There is a contingency that thinks his career is in decline and those are the one’s to whom you say ëwhat game are you watchingí. Now my view of the Ainge regime so far is that he said upon taking over that he wanted players who could shoot and pass the ball and Ainge has gotten rid of a ton of dead wood and replaced it with a bunch of guys who are quick, have good hands, and can for the most part all get their shots off cleanly at almost anytime and create space for their teammates. This is the first time Pierce has been on a Professional team that could do that.
He’s been playing more in the low post with Davis or Payton feeding him from the high post. One of the things about West that I’ll miss for the next 2 months is that he knew how to feed the low post and he’ll be a perfect high post counterpart to Pierce’s low post. Enough about that. I expect a lot more of Pierce playing with his back to the basket and coming off of picks rather then him getting the ball beyond the arc. This will take some getting used to. Pierce’s difficulty excluding the end of games (and let’s not forget he won a buzzer beater this year so he’s 1 for 2 at the buzzer) is being able to recognize players running at him in the low post and then getting the ball to the weak side shooter that is open. Pierce is a smart, smart basketball player and this isn’t rocket science and he will learn to trust the open shooter whoever it is. Now don’t get me wrong Pierce is a great slasher and can get his shot off and make moves off the dribble but his game won’t truly open up into the team scheme Rivers and Ainge have in mind unless he learns to play two passes away from the point guard.
Jon:
First, don’t get me wrong. I like Paul Pierce, I really do. His performance in 2002 rekindled Celtic Pride, and made the Boston Celtics relevant yet again. Consistently slashing to the hoop, breaking down his defender on the blocks, or hitting impossible shots with a hand in his face; Paul Pierce made the Celtics SportsCenter worthy once again. But since that incredible 4th quarter comeback against New Jersey in the 2002 playoffs, Pierce has been on a gradual decline with last season being the apparent rock bottom. Consistently missing ill advised jumpers with a hand in his face, driving to the hoop through 3 or 4 defenders, completely ignoring wide open teammates, and on and on. 2004 was not a kind year for #34.
The 2005 season brought a great deal of hope and promise to the Boston Celtics and its captain, but to this point only Paul Pierce has been unable, or perhaps unwilling, to take advantage of his improved situation. Gary Payton’s arrival should have the biggest impact for Pierce as he no longer needs to run the offense AND score the points. Instead Pierce can focus on getting open and putting the ball in the net. Ricky Davis, Tony Allen, Jiri Welsch, and The Fragile Frenchman have figured out that moving without the basketball and finding the open man are key to succeeding in Doc Rivers’ offense. Hell, I bet if you put my 7th grade basketball team in there, they would figure it out before the 3 time All Star who will bring in over $14 million a year over the next 3 years.
So what are Doc and Danny to do? Wait until Pierce figures out that he can be the best shooting guard in the game if he moves without the ball and always looks for the open man, or move him. The last thing anyone wants is for Paul Pierce to turn into Vince Carter, but even on his worst day, Pierce has 50 times more heart than “Vinsanity”. And, let’s not forget that we sit here only 14 games into Pierce’s first season with Doc Rivers and a gaggle of new teammates. Even the New England Journal of Medicine has stated that it takes at least 35 games before the deadly affliction commonly known as “Obie Ball” can be expelled from a person with as severe of a case as Pierce has. So perhaps we are all being hasty in expecting Pierce to make the switch without some difficulty.
Yet, the events of the last two weeks bring even the most ardent Pierce supporter some pause about Paul’s long term prospects with the Green. Esteemed journalist Bob Halloran noted, in a piece for the Boston Press Box, that Pierce has not had the number of late game heroics many of us had assumed. Now of course the only Celtics action the WCVB newsman has seen has been in the highlights he reads over on weekend newscasts, but he isn’t completely wrong in noting Pierce’s diminishing ability in the clutch. Without Pierce’s ability in the clutch, Ainge must wonder whether Pierce is a better fit than the efficient and affordable Welsch, Davis, and Allen. A troika whose salaries combined are less than 2/3rds of Pierce’s yearly value.
If Danny Ainge does want to move Pierce his options are very limited at this point. The best targets are on the two best teams in the West: Shawn Marion witht the Suns and Ray Allen with the Sonics. Neither team is interested in rocking the boat at a time when they experience unexpected success. Elton Brand is another potential target, but not only are the Clippers playing well, Chris Wilcox is more likely to be moved than the former Blue Devils star. And you can forget about Jason Kidd… Danny Ainge would never move Pierce within the division, where he could take his vengeance out on the Celtics four times a year.
So unless you see hope in a Pierce and Banks to Golden State for Mike Dunleavy, Dale Davis, Troy Murphy, and a #1 pick deal; then prepare to be disappointed should ESPN’s Bottom Line say, “Boston Celtics Trade Paul Pierce To…”. You might as well turn off the TV and flip on the radio home to “Boston Celtics Basketball…. talk”, at least then you can avoid hearing about it.
