Paul Pierce...the beginning of the end?

[ACF]

call me a homer or sucker, but i want pierce here til the end.  regardless if its a good idea or not, the fan in me wants it to happen. 

Allow me to co-sign that with big, fat letters.

[misha]

call me a homer or sucker, but i want pierce here til the end.  regardless if its a good idea or not, the fan in me wants it to happen. 

Allow me to co-sign that with big, fat letters.

Double co sign

[GreenFaith1819]

call me a homer or sucker, but i want pierce here til the end.  regardless if its a good idea or not, the fan in me wants it to happen. 

Allow me to co-sign that with big, fat letters.

Double co sign

And Again.

This could go on forever. But it's all good.

[wiley]

I think we better dump all concern over individual play at this make or break moment.....which was the gist of my don't worry about Paul thread....

The truth is (no pun intended), we could win today with a big game from Paul or we could win with a big game/s from another player/s....

Time to think primarily about defense, rebounding, taking care of the ball and playing as a team on both ends of the floor....

[celticinorlando]

there should be no new money tied up into the big three. let them play their contracts out and part ways if needed. we have to get younger and signing PP to a 3 year extention would be just dumb business. same with ray allen (unless they get him for the MLE and it is for a max of 2 years). KG is the contract we need off the books to move forward

[ManUp]

Ole PP just ain't what he used to be. After his great start to the season it's been becoming more and more obvious. Sure he can go off any given game, but he can't sustain it for as long a stretch as he used to. I'm not sure if he can do it for 4qtrs against a good defense. Pierce needs to start adjusting his style of play. The iso game is what's slipped the most for him.

[housecall]

Yes, pretty much. The signs have been there all year. In fact, they started last year. This is why none of the big three should be resigned.

of the big 3, i think ray has a few years left in him, in a reduced role.  there is always a need for a shooter.

There is absolutely no way that Pierce should be given a new contract.

call me a homer or sucker, but i want pierce here til the end.  regardless if its a good idea or not, the fan in me wants it to happen.  

I agree about a consistent sharp shooter is hard to find,and can produce at crunch time..and i feel ya with Paul retiring as a Celtics,there is always a way if both parties can meet in the middle.tp

[billysan]

Yes, pretty much. The signs have been there all year. In fact, they started last year. This is why none of the big three should be resigned.

of the big 3, i think ray has a few years left in him, in a reduced role.  there is always a need for a shooter.

There is absolutely no way that Pierce should be given a new contract.

call me a homer or sucker, but i want pierce here til the end.  regardless if its a good idea or not, the fan in me wants it to happen. 

I agree about a consistent sharp shooter is hard to find,and can produce at crunch time..and i feel ya with Paul retiring as a Celtics,there is always a way if both parties can meet in the middle.tp

Agreed, but this is for the future.

I guess for me I just expect when we play a team with a 'superstar' we will not get as much production from that particular position. I dont see the other 2/3 of the big three stepping up consistently when Paul is against another SF.

When we played the Heat, everyone else stepped up when Wade was abusing our guards. Why arent Ray, KG and Rondo exploding against the Cavaliers? That will nullify the 'Lebron effect' on most nites.

All things being equal, the Cavaliers played better for one game than we did, particularly Lebron. Game 4 will likely be different, I expect Paul to be looking for a little 'payback'.

[Prof. Clutch]

Pierce efficiently dropped 32 points, 8 rebounds & 3 assists against Miami about 15 days ago.  Unless it takes only two weeks to decline I'm not buying it.

I just think Pierce has a difficult job in guarding Lebron and being guarded by him, and hasn't found his flow in the offense in this series yet.

He ain't finished by a long shot!

[billysan]

Pierce efficiently dropped 32 points, 8 rebounds & 3 assists against Miami about 15 days ago.  Unless it takes only two weeks to decline I'm not buying it.

I just think Pierce has a difficult job in guarding Lebron and being guarded by him, and hasn't found his flow in the offense in this series yet.

He ain't finished by a long shot!

Thank you...


I guess since Antwan Jamison out 'statted' KG for one nite then we should say he is finished too? I dont think so. Paul will bounce back, I just want the rest of our 'superstars' to perform better as well. That is supposed to be one of our key advatages, multiple weapons to win with....not just Paul Pierce.

[Q_FBE]

Thoughts for the future of Paul Pierce. He is on an expiring contract of 21 million dollars. I think he will be back next season but may be traded for future Celtics to play with Rondo and Perkins as this will be year one of the transition. Year 2 is when KG and Wallace are in the final years of their contracts (provided that Wyc is not collecting insurance money to pay off these old cripples).

So in 2012 - The Celtics will be barely recognizable from todays Celtics. Its possible that Danny may turn his roster over 100% by then.

[Bahku]

Is something wrong with him?  Is he injured?

Or are we witnessing Paul Pierce, circa Larry Bird 1992?

There is NOT one of the "big 3" that can carry this team any longer...that's a scary thought, not only for this season, but for what the future holds.

Sunday is important...either tonight is a mulligan or they are really finished.  I just don't know what to make of this Jekyll & Hyde team...

See Playoffs Round 1, Game 3, vs Miami Heat, April 23, 2010, Paul Pierce: 32 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal ... nope, he can't carry this team any longer.  

[Andy Jick]

Well, Bahku...

Roll your eyes all you want, but what's happened is that Pierce cannot do that on a REGULAR basis.  His numbers against the Cavs are not good, and your citing ONE example from the Miami series a week ago doesn't disprove that Paul's game is on the down-slide... 

I see a player who can no longer carry a team, along with the other 2/3rds of the "new big 3"...  You have to be VERY cautious giving them long-term deals, knowing their careers are pretty much about over...

[BudweiserCeltic]

He just doesn't play comfortably offensively against Cleveland. That's all there's to it. He'll have his days here and there, but it's just a very bad match-up for him. Have we suddenly forgotten his play against them in 2008? Other than 1 or 2 games (one extremely good game), he had a very poor series.

[celticinorlando]

maybe the dunk on LBJ will get him some mojo