Paul Pierce is not clutch (from the free throw line)

[rondohondo]

at least not at the free throw line.

2002 ECF Game 4 against NJ under 1 minute left misses clutch free throws to lose the game and swing the momentum to NJ

2009 - Game 1 and 4 against Chi, Misses clutch free throws to give Chicago life


I have a feeling there are a few more that I am forgetting about , but I definitely don't want PP at the line with the game on the line....

[davemonsterband]

And how many games has he finished off at the line? Nobody remembers those ones. He's going to miss 1/4 of them, late game or not.

[rondohondo]

And how many games has he finished off at the line? Nobody remembers those ones. He's going to miss 1/4 of them, late game or not.

give me a game in the playoffs where he has hit clutch free throws to finish the game. I love the guy but when the pressure is on at the free throw line in the playoffs he almost always chokes...

[Greenbean]

Yeeaaah, hate to say it but he is prone for some big misses. Although he has iced plenty of games he still makes me nervous. Superman's kryptonite (even though I hate that everyone in the NBA is Superman)

[endverse]

I think Ray Allen alone gives the C's their fair share of clutchness.

What we need from PP for the rest of the series is not to be clutch, but to properly supplement Rondo and Allen--the real leaders throughout the series so far.

Besides, PP isn't alone. Hinrich, Salmons and Gordon all missed crucial FT's in the last quarter as well.

[Drucci]

And how many games has he finished off at the line? Nobody remembers those ones. He's going to miss 1/4 of them, late game or not.

give me a game in the playoffs where he has hit clutch free throws to finish the game. I love the guy but when the pressure is on at the free throw line in the playoffs he almost always chokes...

Game 7 last year against Cleveland?

I agree that Pierce is disappointing in this series at the end of games (well, during the entire game in fact...) but what I truly don't understand is why he keeps getting the ball while Ray is on the court!

[Donoghus]

Hate to nitpick but it was Game 4 in '02, not Game 3.

[Roy Hobbs]

Pierce might not be particularly clutch from the line, but he's not necessarily unclutch, either.  I would guess that if you looked at all his shots from the line in close games over his career, they'd come come to his career average.

Overall, Paul has always been a good-to-great playoff performer.  He's having a tough series this year, and played putridly for stretches this game, but the suggestion that he's a choker is probably a bit too much.

[rondohondo]

And how many games has he finished off at the line? Nobody remembers those ones. He's going to miss 1/4 of them, late game or not.

give me a game in the playoffs where he has hit clutch free throws to finish the game. I love the guy but when the pressure is on at the free throw line in the playoffs he almost always chokes...

Game 7 last year against Cleveland?

I agree that Pierce is disappointing in this series at the end of games (well, during the entire game in fact...) but what I truly don't understand is why he keeps getting the ball while Ray is on the court!

good call although the ball went 5 feet in the air off the rim before it fell through

[Steve Weinman]

Hate to nitpick but it was Game 4 in '02, not Game 3.

Game 3 worked out pretty well, huh?  Well, at least the money quarter, if I recall...

...ah, happy memories...

-sw

[CoachBo]

Pierce might not be particularly clutch from the line, but he's not necessarily unclutch, either.  I would guess that if you looked at all his shots from the line in close games over his career, they'd come come to his career average.

Overall, Paul has always been a good-to-great playoff performer.  He's having a tough series this year, and played putridly for stretches this game, but the suggestion that he's a choker is probably a bit too much.

Fair evaluation - unlike the absurd claims that he's lazy in other threads. For the life of me, I can't understand why that idea keeps resurfacing.

52 minutes, man. Doesn't take a lot to figure out what ails him.

[Donoghus]

Hate to nitpick but it was Game 4 in '02, not Game 3.

Game 3 worked out pretty well, huh?  Well, at least the money quarter, if I recall...

...ah, happy memories...

-sw

Still the best crowd atmosphere I've ever experienced at a sporting event.

[perks-a-beast]

And how many games has he finished off at the line? Nobody remembers those ones. He's going to miss 1/4 of them, late game or not.

give me a game in the playoffs where he has hit clutch free throws to finish the game. I love the guy but when the pressure is on at the free throw line in the playoffs he almost always chokes...

Pierces free throw stance just makes me extremely nervous. It looks like he's trying to balance while shooting. The foot spacing just drives me bananas.

[rondohondo]

Hate to nitpick but it was Game 4 in '02, not Game 3.

Game 3 worked out pretty well, huh?  Well, at least the money quarter, if I recall...

...ah, happy memories...

-sw

oh yea thats right sorry it was game 4 . I am not saying he is a choker overall only when he is at the free throw line with the game on the line .

[KungPoweChicken]

Pierce has never been clutch at the free throw line. In general, he hasn't been a clutch player period. He's always been okay, but he's never been close to the level of a player like Kobe or Michael at the end of the game. There are many, many, many players I would want with the ball in their hands at the end of the game other than Pierce. (And this is coming from a pretty big Pierce fan.)

Yes, Pierce has blown two games in this Chicago series all by himself. He has looked disinterested, and his lack of hustle in this series has been infuriating.