Full Court Press: 12/1/04
Our Boston Celtics have given their fans more ups and downs than a VH1 Behind The Music special on just about any 80’s Metal band. The game starts out strong, as the C’s are able to get out on the court and run. Guys are moving away from the basketball and always looking for the open man. Then, much like their Def Leppard brethren, the wheels come flying off when drugs and dismemberment enter the picture in the 4th quarter… or whoops. I guess I mixed my metaphors there, but you get the drift. There has been a lot of be excited about, but there remain a number of areas of concern.
This week, after yet another missed shot to send a game to overtime, Paul Pierce has had the target on his back. Internet message boards have been buzzing over the debate over whether Ainge should work to find Pierce a new home. Even Captain Hindsight himself, Peter May, made note in last Sunday’s Globe that Pierce’s attitude and demeanor are troubling. So what is one to do? Trade the best player on your team? Wait it out until Pierce buys into more of a team concept? Or perhaps pull a Vince Carter and keep him on the roster despite every player on the team despising him? Ok, maybe not the last one, but you get the idea.
We opened up this idea to the Full Court Press’ stable of highly qualified and well compensated writers to look at Paul Pierce’s role on this Celtics team and what his future may be in the NBA. Today is part 1 of this look at the Celtics captain, with part 2 to follow later this week.
Mark:
Paul Pierce is off to a great start. Thus far this season, his field goal percentage, 3 point percentage, free throw percentage, rebounds per game, blocks per game and points per game are all up from last season. He’s in the top 15 in the NBA in most offensive categories. And he could not appear more disinterested in it all. Paul is turning into exactly what the Antoine Walker bashers wrongly characterized him as for years: a petulant child that needs to be disciplined.
When Walker was traded before last season, there was no longer any question that this Celtics incarnation belonged to Pierce. We heard how Paul had been reading books on leadership, in sports and otherwise, as well as picking the brains of some of the Celtics all-timers for tips on how to make the guys around him better. And then we watched as he failed to achieve any of these goals, and in the process have the worst statistical year of his career. Even worse, he looked like the stereotype of the spoiled, me-first NBA player of today down the stretch of the season.
That said, I read some of the internet folk who feel that Pierce should be traded post-haste, and I cannot disagree more. Not because I think he’s the consummate Celtic and cannot be replaced. No, because right now I can’t see that you can get equal value for Pierce. Look at the players most named in the NBA rumor mill. Vince Carter, no thanks I like my teams to win. Shareef Abdur-Rahim: perhaps, if you like the 2005 free agents and want to move PP’s 3 years for SAR’s contract in it’s final season. Tyson Chandler: mmmmm let me ponder this…..NO!!!! One of the many overpaid guys on the Knicks: why bail out Isiah?
The truth is that this early in the season, with Pierce back to his standard form you cannot trade him. It simply makes poor basketball sense to trade Pierce because he has a sour look on his punim, and hasn’t accepted the mantle of being the team’s anchor. Perhaps later in the season, as we get closer to the trading deadline some better players will be available, but for now I cannot see how trading Pierce makes this team better, now. That’s how I see it.
Dan:
An interesting question: Should the Cs trade Paul Pierce? The Celtics made a similar type move when they traded Antoine Walker last fall. People who (admittedly) never even watch the NBA any more buried Danny Ainge for making this deal, primarily because Antoine (along with Pierce) was the only real name player on the Celtics that they were aware of. The truth is, it was not a bad trade. It would have been a great trade if Raef Lafrentz had stayed healthy, but he didnt and the GM deserves blame for taking a risk like that. The real success of the deal hinged on Vin Baker staying sober so Boston had a low post player to balance the offense. He didnt, Lafrentz went down, and the team suffered the consequences. After this, Ainge realized he did not need role players on a 43 win team, so he dealt them (Williams and Battie) for more talented players.
When asked, Ainge said the main reason he traded Walker is because of the hold he had on the team. He did not feel they could change their offensive philosophy while continuing to run that offense through Antoine. He also knew Antoine would be belligerent the whole season if he was not the primary ball handler, hence making the hasty deal. This raises the key question, can we say the same thing about the hold Paul Pierce has on this team?
I am really on the fence on this one. Pierce thrives in the half court game where he can create his own shot and get to the line repeatedly, and (hopefully) pass out of double teams. He is not very fast, so when it becomes a running game, he loses his edge over his defender because the fastbreak is just as much about speed as it is about a quick first step. The main impact Pierce has had in the running game has been as a defensive rebounder and outlet passer. Thats all well and good, but it is not why hes here. The value Pierce brings to this team is that he is really their only option on offense in the halfcourt game. Almost every shot they get is a result of Pierce either shooting, or passing out of a double team to start some ball movement.
So I guess the way I see it is this: although Pierce does not really mesh well with the type of frantic fast paced game the Cs want to play, he is a much needed presence for when the game slows down. And, as much we like to think they can run all the time, we all know thats not how it goes (especially come playoff time). Without an impact player for defenses to focus on like Pierce, the Celtics would struggle to score 80 points on most nights. That is why I believe they need to keep him here. We all know what hes capable of when his head is right, and come playoff time, we will appreciate having someone on the team who is willing and capable of taking the offensive load on their shoulders.
