Pierce is Back!

[nickagneta]

Again, I don't see the difference.

[PosImpos]

He looks a little bit more defined / thinner but not that different.  I can see what Change is saying but really I think he was just really tired from having to carry the team in the latter half of last season.

Pierce could carry teams earlier in his career, and he can still do it, but he's too old now to do it and not have it slow him down towards the end of a long season.

[Rondo_is_better]

Again, I don't see the difference.

Perhaps you should chill.

Whether he is more cut and defined, or he is simply rejuvenated after a long summer and playing as he did last November, the result is the same. Paul Pierce is back.

[nickagneta]

Again, I don't see the difference.

Perhaps you should chill.

Whether he is more cut and defined, or he is simply rejuvenated after a long summer and playing as he did last November, the result is the same. Paul Pierce is back.

Chill?

What did I say?

Was I being rude or insulting?

Change made an observation that I disagree with and don't see. I see the visual difference in Perk and Baby. I might see a little extra upper body bulk on Rondo. Sheed definitely looks a bit chubbier than I remember.

But I don't see any change in Pierce physically and I don't see that he is any more or less athletic than at this point last year, when by the way, many pundits were remarking about his weight loss and extra quickness and muscle definition. I haven't heard any of that this year except now from the OP.

Chill? For what? For being observant?

[FanInTheSouth]

Again, I don't see the difference.

Perhaps you should chill.

Whether he is more cut and defined, or he is simply rejuvenated after a long summer and playing as he did last November, the result is the same. Paul Pierce is back.

Chill?

What did I say?

Was I being rude or insulting?

Change made an observation that I disagree with and don't see. I see the visual difference in Perk and Baby. I might see a little extra upper body bulk on Rondo. Sheed definitely looks a bit chubbier than I remember.

But I don't see any change in Pierce physically and I don't see that he is any more or less athletic than at this point last year, when by the way, many pundits were remarking about his weight loss and extra quickness and muscle definition. I haven't heard any of that this year except now from the OP.

Chill? For what? For being observant?

You do seem to be a little aggressive with your counter-arguments.  I would have to say, compared to the Pierce of the end of last season he does seem to have a bit more of a hop in his step.  Now, this is obviously because of having some rest over the summer, but I guess my point is I didn't see any part of the OPs message that said compared to this point last year.  At least that is how I took it when I read it.

[greenwise]

Though his quality and class have always been there I believe this year he's shown more athleticism. I don't remember him dunking so many times in the last years. The Captain never left but his dunking was getting more rare.

Maybe the title of the thread should be: "Pierce's dunking is back!"

[Harris34]

Yeah, I agree. Change it to "Pierce's dunking is back!"

But really, people have remarked on the telecasts (can't remember if it was the national guys, or mike and tommy) that he had lost weight/was in great shape.

Again, I can personally see it in his face. He hasn't had cheek definition like that since 2002. Maybe he had some plastic surgery done? LOL.

[Roy Hobbs]

Pierce has lost weight, and he's lost body fat:

Pierce turns 32 on Tuesday, and a new lifestyle has him energized as he enters his 12th NBA season. Last month he was one of several Celtics who showed up to media day with a noticeably slimmer frame. While Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis admitted to dropping up to 15 and 30 pounds respectively, Pierce (who is listed at 235 pounds) isn’t paying attention to the scale.

“I maybe lost two pounds, I don’t know,” he said. As for losing body fat, “Probably so, I haven’t measured it, but most likely I have.”

Pierce isn’t counting the pounds because it’s how his body feels, not what the scale reads, that matters more to him. And even though he feels young, he understands the reality of being a professional athlete in his 30s. Pierce made a commitment to improve his overall health and kick the habits that could eventually catch up to him.

“I just think it’s more important because the body is aging, it’s getting older,” he said. “You’re not as quick as you used to be and your body has to adjust with the times. I mean, what I used to do when I was younger are some of the things I can’t do now. I’m stressing more rest, I didn’t sleep as much when I was younger, so a lot of things change. It’s easier to gain weight the older you get so that’s why I decided to change a lot of my habits.”

The change in his physique has more to do with the changes he endorses through his healthy living initiatives rather than a regimented weight loss program.

“I think it has more to do with my eating habits,” he said. “Ever since I changed everything I’m doing as far as my foundation with The Truth on Health and FitClub34, I’ve got to practice what I preach. I’ve pretty much benefited from the things I’m doing of that nature.”

He added: “I’ve just changed up my eating habits as far as eating a lot of fish, chicken, vegetables, not as much red meat — almost no red meat — no sodas, not a lot of juice. I drink a lot of water and Gatorade and Powerade.”

Ray Allen, a stickler for healthy living, already has noticed the changes in Pierce. Allen was 32 when he was traded to the Celtics in 2008, a time when he says he began to get in his best shape by eating better and getting more sleep. He understands firsthand the importance of Pierce taking care of his body at this pivotal stage in his career.

“Just yesterday in the weight room I told him he was starting to look skinny,” Allen said. “You know, Paul has always had like a heavy look, a heavy body. Now you see in his legs he’s slimming down, his upper body is slimming down. I think it’s the natural evolution when you get into your 30s and your metabolism starts to slow down and you start thinking about eating better, getting more sleep, and then your body starts to show it. And then as for us, this schedule is so demanding you really have no choice, your body will tell you you need more rest.”

Pierce has learned to listen to his body, and because of this he can celebrate his 32nd birthday feeling like he’s in his 20s.

Link

[celticinorlando]

i think the knee situation from the finals never really allowed PP to train like he wanted to before last season....he looks rested, in great shape (had a cav fan at work tell me after the gme that PP looks thin and in great shape)....all first team NBA this season

[Birdbrain]

There is no question that he's trimmed up a bit and it will more than likely help with his lift.  I don't think he's been lifting more cardio if I had to make an assumption.

[xmuscularghandix]

Again, I don't see the difference.

I don't know how you can say that, he's clearly smaller and more cut. I can see it in his arms esspecially.

[Rondo2287]

All of these guys are so big in general its tough to tell.  I mean a guy whos 7 feet tall losing 20 pounds isnt going to be easily detectable to the naked eye. 

[Bankshot]

Paul is going to run circles around Artest.

[lostjumper]

Thanks for the quotes Roy. I too thought he looked trimmer, and it seems the article has backed it up. Overall, it seems that just about everyone showed up this year trimmer and in better shape. Perk, Pierce, Davis, while guys like KG and Ray are always in good shape. Rondo also looks more muscular to me this year(just my opinion..don't have any pics to back that up nick )

[ma11l]

Where did he go?

Did he leave on vacation and just get back and that was someone else playing in Celtic green this year?

Because if you're talking about the quality of his game, I never knew it had taken a setback.

I agree, his game has never really gone anywhere in my opinion.

However I also agree with the OP, he looks awesome so far this year.  He's getting to the rim and finishing strong, and his shooting stroke has looked as good as it ever has, especially from beyond the arc.  Of course he is also still the man coming down the stretch for this team.  They have two other Hall of Famers and the new 55 million dollar man, but Pierce has always and will always be this team's closer.