Am I imagining this about Paul Pierce?

[ajgoodman]

A little side-step from the usual topics I post here, but am I the only one that thinks Paul Pierce got [relatively] fat around 2005-ish?  I'm pretty sure I can tell the different between "bulking up" and flat out gaining weight.  What do you all think?  Here's some image evidence:

Paul Pierce 2002:


Paul Pierce 2008:


In comparison to normal filling out by Kevin Garnett:

Kevin Garnett 1998:


Kevin Garnett 2008:

[KungPoweChicken]

Eh, Paul Pierce has never had a muscular build. The "fat" look was his normal way of "filling out." Plus that picture you took of 2008 Paul makes his right arm look deceivingly big.

[ajgoodman]

Eh, Paul Pierce has never had a muscular build. The "fat" look was his normal way of "filling out." Plus that picture you took of 2008 Paul makes his right arm look deceivingly big.

Unflattering picture, but I'm working from memory too.  Maybe he took some advice from Antoine Walker. Hahahahaha...

[Rashi]

LOL....one of the think I am expecting from the C's in this offseason is for Pierce to get into a better shape.

[KCattheStripe]

Dude has a big frame that he didn't fill out for a while.

[Obi Wan Canubi]

 think it is just the picture, paul it just your average build.  you want thin and trim you look at rondo, you want roundish you look at glenn davis.  pierce has always fit somewhere in between.

[GreenEnvy]

I think Pierce was in better shape the past couple of seasons than he was in like 2005-07. He did put on muscle over the last two years, especially after the title.

He was never an athletic specimen, but he always used his body deceptively well. He is much stronger and quicker than he looks like he could be.

[nickagneta]

Yes.

Go to a game and sit close to the court and you will see he is not "fat" around the middle but just thick in his frame. He was quite thin when he came in the league and when his man muscle build kicked in at about 26 or 27 he filled out.

It's just his natural frame and build. Dude's a strong man and big. That's why he's able to muscle with Lebron and some of the other bigger SFs and smaller PFs in the league.

[jr_3421]

Some people are able to put on weight with ease while others struggle. You're just looking at the 2 ends of the spectrum. As for going to a game, I remember one time I went to a Celtics game and Pierce had to take off his shirt because he got blood on it. Trust me when I say this, dude is jacked (no homo). He is just in a league with some of the greatest athletes in the world and so he seems more on the chubby side in comparison.

[Birdbrain]

A little side-step from the usual topics I post here, but am I the only one that thinks Paul Pierce got [relatively] fat around 2005-ish?  I'm pretty sure I can tell the different between "bulking up" and flat out gaining weight.  What do you all think?  Here's some image evidence:

Paul Pierce 2002:


Paul Pierce 2008:


In comparison to normal filling out by Kevin Garnett:

Kevin Garnett 1998:


Kevin Garnett 2008:

He's been out of shape for a few years now, although I haven't seen anyone mention it.  Thanks for the heads up.

[nickagneta]

Hasn't been in shape for years? Are you kidding me?

Do you remember when they came back after the championship year and opened up against Cleveland? He was so quick and lean he literally faked Lebron out of his jock strap on two different drives to the basket.

[snively]

For once it can be accurately stated that Pierce is not fat, he's big boned.

[clover]

Sure, Pierce has talked about being something of a fat kid growing up, and when he does trim down, as in the fall of 2008, it doesn't seem to stick. 

Now that he's getting older and slowing down a tad, getting and staying in shape is probably the more important for his productivity and maybe for minimizing injuries as well.  It'd be nice to see him come back slimmer this fall and stay that way.  I could say that the sterling examples of KG and RA don't seem to have rubbed off, but maybe their influence has kept him from chubbing up more: he's never come close to a Big Baby, let alone a Sweetney.

[makaveli]

Paul was in better shape last year than year before and in out championship year. Injuries got to him.
I remember he was dunking more frequently at the beginning of the season( more than in last 5 years surely).
And he's not the type of a guy that doesn't take care of weight.

[pearljammer10]

I think it is pretty funny that you chose those two pictures for comparison... From the pictures you chose Pierce actually looks more muscular in 2008 than in 2002 and it completely goes against your point.

Yes Pierce has "filled out" but to call him "fat" and "out of shape"? Really? Thats just a dumb statement. Pierce is never going to be the ripped up cuttest player in the league but is certainly in shape and has a very strong body. Its just his build, how do you think he is able to get to the basket and finish so strong?