Throughout last year and even for the first few weeks of this year, Pierce was a great defender and could get to the rim whenever he wanted. He came into the preseason this year slimmer than he's been in several years. In the opener, it showed: he seemed a step too quick for LeBron, and he ended up outplaying LBJ.
Where did that go?
For the past month and a half, the newfound quickness that Pierce seemed to have has vanished. Forget Bron. Pierce can't seem to get to the rim against anybody, and he's been getting beaten on defense by guys that he should be able to - and usually does - shut down. And then in Cleveland the other night - a game that he should have been able to get up for - LeBron completely trashed him on both ends of the floor.
To his credit, Paul is a smart enough player that he's found ways to make it work against most teams. His midrange game is as good as ever, and he's had a good amount of success working against the other team's point guard on a switch. I'm just wondering where the athleticism went. His quickness is almost gone, and it flat out looks like he struggles to dunk the ball now. And even though he makes the shots, it seems like his shot has no arc now (and it didn't have much to begin with). He went from being a slasher to a jumpshooter.
There are two possible reasons for the change. One is that he's simply getting old. He's on the other side of 30 now. Maybe this is just what we can expect from Paul from here on out. But this switch almost seemed to happen overnight. Maybe the tough schedule the C's have faced thus far this year is tiring him out, but somehow I doubt it. Rather, I think he has some little nagging injury that's sapping his energy. It doesn't take much to throw that part of the game off, and he's probably got a sore ankle or knee that he's trying to fight through. He's tough, so you'll never hear it from him in the media, but I just don't think this is entirely related to age.
Now, I said all of that to say this. The schedule eases up a little bit for the next month or so and the All-Star Break is getting closer, so hopefully he'll have a little bit of time to get healthy. When that happens, I think Paul Pierce will get his game back. I don't necessarily think that he'll consistently outplay LeBron in their matchup (although he's capable of it from time to time), but on the other hand I don't for a second think that the 38/7/6-to-11/5/1 matchup from the other night is our captain.
I'm looking forward to Paul Pierce (as well as the rest of the team) getting some time to get healthy. If and when they rest up and are near 100%, I still don't think there's a team that will be able to best them in a seven game series.
Topic: Paul Pierce (Read 901 times)