Paul Pierce reportedly drinking the night before a playoff game; do you care?

[Roy Hobbs]

I saw this over on RealGM:

I played poker with Paul Pierce tonight...

...at the Seminole Hard Rock casino in Hollywood, FL. I was pretty shocked to see him there, especially the night before a playoff game, and to top it off, he was drinking. I ended up sitting at his $5-10 no limit table and played with him for about an hour before he left. He stayed pretty quiet and definitely looked like he was trying to go unnoticed-- he was sporting a bucket hat, big shades, and a bright red shirt Heat-colored shirt. He had at least a couple of glasses of red wine and sounded kinda tipsy as he playfully cursed out his friend for surprising him from behind as he was playing. Around midnight, right after he got me for $300, he pulled a little hit-and-run and said "all right guys, I gotta get some rest for the game tomorrow."

Anyway, I know it's not a big deal for players to go out and do whatever the night before a game but I just thought it was odd that he was there seemingly by himself, playing till kinda late, and having multiple drinks the night before a playoff game.

It was really difficult to snag a picture of him with my phone since I was sitting right next to him and trying to do so in a casino, where taking pictures is a big no-no, but I did manage to get one decent shot:

Do you care?  Personally, I don't, assuming: 1) Pierce didn't get completely smashed, and 2) he got enough sleep.  Based upon the above, I see no reason to think he did anything irresponsible.  Rather, I'd say this is probably fairly typical for our professional athletes.  Sure, it's probably better if Pierce wasn't drinking at all, but there are worse things than a couple of glasses of wine at a casino.

[Kiorrik]

Nice, I like this kind of story

How awesome would it be to run in to a C player like that

[Donoghus]

It all hinges on how much he had to drink.  If he's just having a cocktail or two to unwind, I have absolutely no qualms about it.  If he's getting plastered, then I have concern.  

[Chris]

Personally, this makes me feel a little better.  This is Miami.  I could list a lot of things he could be doing that would be much more damaging.

This guy saw him drink "at least a couple glasses of red wine".  That doesn't sound like binge drinking to me.

Now if this guy had pictures of Big Baby hitting up Sonic at 3am, then I would be worried.

[mmbaby]

A critical thought to consider: This story not being real!

[Roy Hobbs]

A critical thought to consider: This story not being real!

It may not be, but the picture looks fairly legit, and it's definitely from a casino in Florida.

[mmbaby]

It's a profile in deep shadow. Huh?

[Donoghus]

It's a profile in deep shadow. Huh?

I'm guessing at some point, the photographer had a much better view of his face and identified him as Pierce.  Even with shadow, he certainly resembles Pierce.

Given that photography in a casino is a major no-no, this was probably the best he could pull off, photo-wise.

[muddy02]

it's not like he had to get up for work at 8am... geez.

[Mr October]

It all hinges on how much he had to drink.  If he's just having a cocktail or two to unwind, I have absolutely no qualms about it.  If he's getting plastered, then I have concern.  

Yes and yes. Sounds like it is no big deal.

He was probably just looking for something to do. NBA players typically need to go to sleep well after midnight anyway - seeing how their games end anywhere from 9:30-11:30 local time, then they do interviews, then travel home / to a hotel.

[ScoobyDoo]

Not a huge deal to me, probably just unwinding. If the story was...Pierce hammered at a club at 4am, we have a problem.

A couple drinks, a liitle poker for some distraction is probably a good thing in my mind. Get your mind off things, come back ready. It's like any job.

Also, Pierce is what 6' 7" and 235? I doubt two glasses of win even affects him much at all.

[Jon Niednagel]

I don't see a date on that photo. It could have been taken anytime. Even if it was a legit story, I'm not too worried. PP was still sharp enough to take the writer for $300.

[moiso]

it's not like he had to get up for work at 8am... geez.

exactly.

[misha]

Paul Pierce is a vet player and a professional. He knows better than anyone what he can or can't do before games. I remember stories about Jordan staying late and gambling before games and it wasn't a big deal.

[Roy Hobbs]

It's a profile in deep shadow. Huh?

I'm guessing at some point, the photographer had a much better view of his face and identified him as Pierce.  Even with shadow, he certainly resembles Pierce.

Given that photography in a casino is a major no-no, this was probably the best he could pull off, photo-wise.

Also, the tattoo on the forum looks to be similar to the one that Pierce has, and, for whatever it's worth, he's been known to rock the bucket-hat look before:



I think it was definitely Pierce, but I don't think this is a huge deal.