Pierce is the Most Important Celtic

[CbrewEra]

K.g. can't seem to buy a bucket right now.. he's lost a lot of offense.  thank god he makes uP for it on the defensive end with leadershiP.  Pierce is just the all around leader of the C's, who still can take a game over at will.

[wdleehi]

This team is not going anywhere with Pierce or KG.  


If Daniels was available, the team would be in better shape as well.  


I also agree there are to many roster spots filled with unplayable players (Hudson, Walker and JR)  


The Celtics did a great job in the offseason creating a deep, talented and diverse set of big men (KG, Perk, Wallace, Davis, Scali and Williams) that are all capable of stepping in and playing a larger role if needed because of injuries.  


It is a shame that the perimeter depth is not close to being equal.  

[Vermont Green]

I would definitely vote Pierce as our MVP and I don't think that saying it takes anything away from Garnett. Pierce by himself cannot win a championship, he needs Garnett.  Garnett is a very close second.  Same though for Kobe, Bird, Jordan, Russell or anyone else.  They all need teams.  Garnett is probably the closest second best player on a championship team ever.  Pierce is certainly not the best #1 player on a championship team ever but he is the best on this team.

And please, stop with the Rondo is the most important or more important than Pierce.  We would need a replacement if Rondo went down but he would be relatively easy to replace compared to Pierce or Garnett.

  Wings aren't much harder to replace than point guards.

Ah, but this particular wing is much harder to replace than this particular PG.  I think Chris Duhon (for example) could replace Rondo and if Pierce and Garnett are healthy, the team competes for a title.  Replace Pierce with ? and you have a team that struggles to beat Golden State and the Toe Nail Clippers.

[liam]

I think Pierce makes the offense go the way KG makes the defense go.

[wiley]

K.g. can't seem to buy a bucket right now.. he's lost a lot of offense.  thank god he makes uP for it on the defensive end with leadershiP.  Pierce is just the all around leader of the C's, who still can take a game over at will.

Yes he can.  Pierce can absolutely do that.  But let's not pretend he can do it all the time and in every game.    See last year's Bull's series....

[wiley]

I would definitely vote Pierce as our MVP and I don't think that saying it takes anything away from Garnett. Pierce by himself cannot win a championship, he needs Garnett.  Garnett is a very close second.  Same though for Kobe, Bird, Jordan, Russell or anyone else.  They all need teams.  Garnett is probably the closest second best player on a championship team ever.  Pierce is certainly not the best #1 player on a championship team ever but he is the best on this team.

And please, stop with the Rondo is the most important or more important than Pierce.  We would need a replacement if Rondo went down but he would be relatively easy to replace compared to Pierce or Garnett.

  Wings aren't much harder to replace than point guards.

Ah, but this particular wing is much harder to replace than this particular PG.  I think Chris Duhon (for example) could replace Rondo and if Pierce and Garnett are healthy, the team competes for a title.  Replace Pierce with ? and you have a team that struggles to beat Golden State and the Toe Nail Clippers.

Does Duhon perform this feat with or without the triple doubles in the playoffs, with or without leading the league in steals, with or without the rebounding numbers, with our without scoring 30 with 15 assists last night?

[BballTim]

I would definitely vote Pierce as our MVP and I don't think that saying it takes anything away from Garnett. Pierce by himself cannot win a championship, he needs Garnett.  Garnett is a very close second.  Same though for Kobe, Bird, Jordan, Russell or anyone else.  They all need teams.  Garnett is probably the closest second best player on a championship team ever.  Pierce is certainly not the best #1 player on a championship team ever but he is the best on this team.

And please, stop with the Rondo is the most important or more important than Pierce.  We would need a replacement if Rondo went down but he would be relatively easy to replace compared to Pierce or Garnett.

  Wings aren't much harder to replace than point guards.

Ah, but this particular wing is much harder to replace than this particular PG.  I think Chris Duhon (for example) could replace Rondo and if Pierce and Garnett are healthy, the team competes for a title.  Replace Pierce with ? and you have a team that struggles to beat Golden State and the Toe Nail Clippers.

  You replaced Pierce with a sf that probably wouldn't start anywhere in the league. Replace Rondo with that level of a pg, put Paul on the court and we'll struggle. It's no different than if Rondo sat out and we started Eddie. Replace Paul with a mid-level starting sf and Rondo and that player would take the C's about as far as Pierce and Duhon would, especially with the growth Rondo will show over the season.

[GreenFaith1819]

Good Discussion here.

Someone on ths Blog (TP to whoever it was ) once stated that KG is the soul, Pierce is the heart, and Rondo is the pulse of the Celtics. Each part is equally important, and you lose one and it affects the team.

Looking at Pierce through the years, I have always admired how he could most of the time provide Boston with something they needed during the course of a game - a key rebound, block (VS Kobe in game 4 2007-2008 finals..man that was AWESOME), key basket, hustle play, etc).

Well we are missing that now. Pierce does so much for this team, and does it in a way that just doesn't show up all the time. And he's done this his whole career. That is why he has been SO underrated....

Looking at his stats this year, he leads us in scoring, but he is like 2nd or 3rd in assists, 3rd or 4th in steals, 4th or 5th in rebounding...not "Great" stats, but still filling needs for this team. When he went down we missed that.

We are missing our heart right now. Yes the game in ORL was won without our "Heart", but the human body can't function for long without it.

I expect a "HeartBeat" against PHX, but unless we get the Heart back on a regular basis and Healthy, we aren't hoisting Banner 18.

And that's no disrespect to KG, Ray Allen or anyone else. Pierce is the man. I compare him to Green Lantern of the JLU...maybe not the most powerful of the team, but he's the Heart. Hard to win battles for long without the heart.

[Bahku]

Was there a question that he wasn't? He is the core and Captain, the heart and soul, and the one that ALL the rest look up to for guidance and leadership, including KG. If anyone questions that KG is more important, just ask KG who he looks up to for setting the standard and being their primary catalyst on both ends of the floor, and who is the emotional leader in and out of the locker room. As Ticket has said more than once, when all else fails, "Get the ball to Pierce and get the (heck) out of the way!"

[GreenFaith1819]

Was there a question that he wasn't? He is the core and Captain, the heart and soul, and the one that ALL the rest look up to for guidance and leadership, including KG. If anyone questions that KG is more important, just ask KG who he looks up to for setting the standard and being their primary catalyst on both ends of the floor, and who is the emotional leader in and out of the locker room. As Ticket has said more than once, when all else fails, "Get the ball to Pierce and get the (heck) out of the way!"

So true Bahku..(TP)...it just takes the Captain going down like he did for us to get reminded of it, at least for me. He has been so durable and played the most games of any Celtic over the lat few yrs, so I think sometimes we just get used to him being there.

[Vermont Green]

I would definitely vote Pierce as our MVP and I don't think that saying it takes anything away from Garnett. Pierce by himself cannot win a championship, he needs Garnett.  Garnett is a very close second.  Same though for Kobe, Bird, Jordan, Russell or anyone else.  They all need teams.  Garnett is probably the closest second best player on a championship team ever.  Pierce is certainly not the best #1 player on a championship team ever but he is the best on this team.

And please, stop with the Rondo is the most important or more important than Pierce.  We would need a replacement if Rondo went down but he would be relatively easy to replace compared to Pierce or Garnett.

  Wings aren't much harder to replace than point guards.

Ah, but this particular wing is much harder to replace than this particular PG.  I think Chris Duhon (for example) could replace Rondo and if Pierce and Garnett are healthy, the team competes for a title.  Replace Pierce with ? and you have a team that struggles to beat Golden State and the Toe Nail Clippers.

Does Duhon perform this feat with or without the triple doubles in the playoffs, with or without leading the league in steals, with or without the rebounding numbers, with our without scoring 30 with 15 assists last night?

I think Rondo is a very good player but his numbers get inflated because other teams don't cover him.  His man sags off and basically leaves him wide open.  Last night (Golden State Game) they were playing 10 ft off him even when he had the ball at the foul line.  This makes it easier for Rondo to score and rebound.  An average PG like Duhon (who I used only as an example) would not get the rebounds, steals, or even points as Rondo but if the other team had to play him honest because he was actually a treat to make a shot other than a lay-up, then the Celtics team would be no worse off.

This tread isn't supposed to be about Rondo but I am shocked that some feel that Rondo may be close to as important to the team as Pierce.  Pierce vs. KG, I can see the argument even though I pick Pierce but Rondo?

[BballTim]

I would definitely vote Pierce as our MVP and I don't think that saying it takes anything away from Garnett. Pierce by himself cannot win a championship, he needs Garnett.  Garnett is a very close second.  Same though for Kobe, Bird, Jordan, Russell or anyone else.  They all need teams.  Garnett is probably the closest second best player on a championship team ever.  Pierce is certainly not the best #1 player on a championship team ever but he is the best on this team.

And please, stop with the Rondo is the most important or more important than Pierce.  We would need a replacement if Rondo went down but he would be relatively easy to replace compared to Pierce or Garnett.

  Wings aren't much harder to replace than point guards.

Ah, but this particular wing is much harder to replace than this particular PG.  I think Chris Duhon (for example) could replace Rondo and if Pierce and Garnett are healthy, the team competes for a title.  Replace Pierce with ? and you have a team that struggles to beat Golden State and the Toe Nail Clippers.

Does Duhon perform this feat with or without the triple doubles in the playoffs, with or without leading the league in steals, with or without the rebounding numbers, with our without scoring 30 with 15 assists last night?

I think Rondo is a very good player but his numbers get inflated because other teams don't cover him.  His man sags off and basically leaves him wide open.  Last night (Golden State Game) they were playing 10 ft off him even when he had the ball at the foul line.  This makes it easier for Rondo to score and rebound.  An average PG like Duhon (who I used only as an example) would not get the rebounds, steals, or even points as Rondo but if the other team had to play him honest because he was actually a treat to make a shot other than a lay-up, then the Celtics team would be no worse off.

This tread isn't supposed to be about Rondo but I am shocked that some feel that Rondo may be close to as important to the team as Pierce.  Pierce vs. KG, I can see the argument even though I pick Pierce but Rondo?

  Rondo controls the pace of the game and he's a much better passer than Duhon. His offensive game is improving and he's one of the best pgs in the league at getting to the rim. Most of the lists of the best point guards in the game include Rondo. I don't know why it's shocking that posters think he's so valuable when Doc Rivers has been saying he's our most indespensible player for quite some time.

[thirstyboots18]

Sorry, I just don't see that there is a "most important" Celtic.  When anyone goes down for an extended period, we are in trouble, but we are good enough that we should be able to compensate for any "one".   The team does, however, need to have time to run practice sets with the personnel it does have so individuals know where they need to be to cover assignments in a new (if temporary) system.  This is the time for kg to find out what he has to do to cover for Paul's absence, for Rondo to figure out how to control the game without having Paul as an option, etc.  Right now we are not just missing Paul, we are also missing Marquise, BBD and have a still recovering KG and a hurting Rondo.  Full game intensity is particularly hard right now, and as they recover, people will have to be reinserted into the lineup and the process starts again.  The goal is for everyone to be healthy and playing well together at the end of the season.

[xmuscularghandix]

Sorry, I just don't see that there is a "most important" Celtic.  When anyone goes down for an extended period, we are in trouble, but we are good enough that we should be able to compensate for any "one".   The team does, however, need to have time to run practice sets with the personnel it does have so individuals know where they need to be to cover assignments in a new (if temporary) system.  This is the time for kg to find out what he has to do to cover for Paul's absence, for Rondo to figure out how to control the game without having Paul as an option, etc.  Right now we are not just missing Paul, we are also missing Marquise, BBD and have a still recovering KG and a hurting Rondo.  Full game intensity is particularly hard right now, and as they recover, people will have to be reinserted into the lineup and the process starts again.  The goal is for everyone to be healthy and playing well together at the end of the season.

Ray goes down we improve on defense, and offensively we can have Rondo/Pierce be more aggressive off the dribble.

I really feel like last nights loss was a direct result of The Celtics FORCING the ball to Ray offensively. Not to mention the shot selection in the 4th quarter.



All that being said i love Ray Allen and what he brings to the team. But Pierce's ability to create his own offense was definitely missed.

[thirstyboots18]

Well...the reason I thought they lost the game last night was that they couldn't carry the defensive intensity of the first period throughout the second half.  It may have been the lack of personnel or it may have been Rondo's hamstring slowing him down,or it may have been the travel schedule and fatigue from back to back games, but for whatever reason, I saw that as the main reason for the letdown.  I also thought that was the reason for the loss in Sunday's game.