Where is PP's intensity?

[crownsy]

ask the pacers, i bet they'd say right around 8 seconds left in the game from the left arc with a hand in his face. 

[Birdbrain]

ask the pacers, i bet they'd say right around .8 seconds left in the game from the left arc with a hand in his face. 

Exactly.  The Captain came through with the biggest shot of the night after another night struggling from the floor. 

[moiso]

He seems to be catching the ball consistenly farther from the hoop.  He' s taking less shots which is great but it would be nice if his percentage was better... maybe he's not taking enough shots to get in a groove?  I'm not complaining but if I had to rank the Celts as far as how they have played this year only, Paul would be #4 on the list behind kg,ray,rondo.  But whatever they are doing is working.  The unselfishness makes them so hard to defend.

[TatteredOnMySleeve]

Paul does look a little lethargic lately, and his confidence seems shaky (rare), he's either worn down after a short summer or struggling with some injuries, i got a good feeling its his knee along with the hand problem he's been dealing with, but I could be wrong.

[Birdbrain]

Paul was never quick but, he could get by his man in most instances.  Not lately.  I think he might be dealing with some minor injuries.  The older and wiser Paul doesn't force things to get his numbers when he's struggling.  I don't think you can ever shake his confidence.  He was like 2-20 from 3's past 5 games but, he still took the big shot.

[Chris]

Paul does look a little lethargic lately, and his confidence seems shaky (rare), he's either worn down after a short summer or struggling with some injuries, i got a good feeling its his knee along with the hand problem he's been dealing with, but I could be wrong.

Well, they also just played one of the most packed months of basketball I have ever seen. They had 6 back to backs, and have played 22 games in 41 days. 

He also led the team in minutes over this period, and at times played rediculous minutes (and intense minutes). 

Its not surprising that he is looking a little lethargic lately. 

[Redz]

Paul does look a little lethargic lately, and his confidence seems shaky (rare), he's either worn down after a short summer or struggling with some injuries, i got a good feeling its his knee along with the hand problem he's been dealing with, but I could be wrong.

Well, they also just played one of the most packed months of basketball I have ever seen. They had 6 back to backs, and have played 22 games in 41 days. 

He also led the team in minutes over this period, and at times played rediculous minutes (and intense minutes). 

Its not surprising that he is looking a little lethargic lately. 

A nice 2 game week should help then

[SamuelAdams]

I thought Indianna, and our old coach, did a good job of defending Paul. They took away the baseline side of the basket every time he started to drive. PP smartly gave up the ball to someone who was not to be doubled.  The best thing about this team is they trust their team mates.

I see games like this and smile broadly.  In the past we lived and died with PP's 1 on 3 drives in the 4th quarter...

[timpiker]

I watched last nights game as well and thought PP seemed out of it.  He just didn't show his usual aggression.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I thought he was fairly aggressive... maybe he didn't go strong to the hoop at times, but he tried to make plays down low, many unsuccesfully. Í really have to credit the Pacers' defense last night. Their schemes really bothered Pierce, and we didn't have many easy shots.

The only one whose aggression disappointed me last night was Rondo's to tell you the truth.

[Sweet17]

Yeah we had Bad Rondo last night..

[crownsy]

Yeah we had Bad Rondo last night..

if bad rondo puts up 13/7/7 with 3 steals a night, then im ok with his off nights once in awhile.

the 6 TO's sucked, but a typical bad rondo night last year woul be more like

3/2/3/ 4 TO's- 19 minutes.

[EJPLAYA]

Yeah we had Bad Rondo last night..

if bad rondo puts up 13/7/7 with 3 steals a night, then im ok with his off nights once in awhile.

the 6 TO's sucked, but a typical bad rondo night last year woul be more like

3/2/3/ 4 TO's- 19 minutes.

Agreed, but Rondo sat there and dribbled the ball to death a lot of plays which forced some bad shots as he was down to about 8-9 seconds once he finally decided to give up the ball. If Rondo could lose that part of his game then he would be one of the best.

As far as PP, there is no question he was a little out of it, but I think it was one of those "relax, I have KG and Ray out here taking over" nights. He knew Ray was on and let him go. House also filled a lot of that role while he was out there. I like that PP trusts his guys enough to feel like he CAN slack a bit. I thought he at least gave it on the defensive end, and boy he hit a huge three...

[crownsy]

Yeah we had Bad Rondo last night..

if bad rondo puts up 13/7/7 with 3 steals a night, then im ok with his off nights once in awhile.

the 6 TO's sucked, but a typical bad rondo night last year woul be more like

3/2/3/ 4 TO's- 19 minutes.

Agreed, but Rondo sat there and dribbled the ball to death a lot of plays which forced some bad shots as he was down to about 8-9 seconds once he finally decided to give up the ball. If Rondo could lose that part of his game then he would be one of the best.

As far as PP, there is no question he was a little out of it, but I think it was one of those "relax, I have KG and Ray out here taking over" nights. He knew Ray was on and let him go. House also filled a lot of that role while he was out there. I like that PP trusts his guys enough to feel like he CAN slack a bit. I thought he at least gave it on the defensive end, and boy he hit a huge three...

true, and belive me,  im not arguing he had a good night, I'm just saying i like This version of a "off" rondo  a whole lot better than an off night from last year, where he litearlly gave you nothing at all.

[TradeProposalDude]

Pierce has been like this throughout his career. It appears he's coasting, but then when you least expect it, he hits a dagger, as he did last night.

I accept the argument that his shot is flatter than ever before in his NBA career. I think it's that way because he's buying into the team scheme more than ever before. Paul Pierce's bad habits usually re-assert themselves at some point, now you basically never see "too much" 1 on 5 isolation out of him. He's a matured pro now.

Knowing PP, It's just a matter of time before he kicks his game up a couple notches and people regret ever saying anything bad about him.