Pierce is our best player

[Bahku]

Always has been ... but KG has been right behind him since he came. The beauty is, they each respect each other and defer to each other when it comes to taking the "spotlight", but even KG knows when it comes to crunch time, "Get Paul the ball and get out of the way!" He is one of the greatest "clutch" players of all time, and in my opinion, will never get the credit he deserves.

That's why I was so incredibly pleased when he got the Finals MVP award ... it was about time! He was the only thing that kept me watching the Celtics for a number of years, and those of us that were around for the "Lean Years", know what a difficult job he had. It bugged some people when he started talking about being traded, but that was only because he was tired of carrying a mediocre team with no prospect of a Championship.

The KG/Ray trades were the result, and we owe him for that, too.

[wdleehi]

KG is still the best player. 


Pierce is the closer.





This team doesn't have a MVP candidate because no one player needs to play so far above everyone else. 


Team defense is this teams MVP. 

[TitleMaster]

KG is still the best player. 

Pierce is the closer.

This team doesn't have a MVP candidate because no one player needs to play so far above everyone else. 

Team defense is this teams MVP. 

I think the closer piece is significant. Realize that w/o rest, Pierce couldn't close the way he used to. Limit his minutes and we won't have a problem with close contests ever again 

[gar]

question is irrelevant to team concept and idea of unbutu.

[Drucci]

I don't know if he is our best player (in the sense of creating his own shot, playing good D and making good decisions, yes, for the combination) but he definitely looks great right now and I don't have the numbers or stats to check it but it seems to me that he looks that good since the Green trade, which means it's already paying off in terms of rest for Pierce and more juice.

[Rondo9dunx]

Pierce has been so clutch this year. Hitting all his iso shots, comin up big when the rest of the team is playing like crap. He has had more monster dunks this year than I have ever seen watching him.

[throwedoff]

Pierce has been so clutch this year. Hitting all his iso shots, comin up big when the rest of the team is playing like crap. He has had more monster dunks this year than I have ever seen watching him.

co-sign I remember him saying in an interview when asked about it that his feet, and ankles aren't bothering him as much as they have been over the past few years

[drza44]

KG is still the best player. 

Pierce is the closer.

This team doesn't have a MVP candidate because no one player needs to play so far above everyone else. 

Team defense is this teams MVP. 

I think the closer piece is significant. Realize that w/o rest, Pierce couldn't close the way he used to. Limit his minutes and we won't have a problem with close contests ever again 

This team doesn't have "A" closer.  Pierce, Allen and KG split the closing responsibilities pretty equally, with each playing their roles.  Rondo is starting to sneak into the act more as well.

[Marcus13]

Here's the reason why we're in good shape...

For the most part, the Celtics play team defense. Aside from KG, there isn't one defender who isn't replaceable within the system.

On the other hand, what we can't have is Pierce play extended minutes during playoff games. That's when PP starts to get streak-y. With Green, as his primary backup, Pierce will get plenty of rest for most of the contests.

As for Ray Ray, he is a streak-y shooter, as we'd noticed during both the '08 and '10 playoffs. The problem is that he goes cold w/o notice. This is a re-occurring issue.I suspect that Pierce, with limited minutes, will be firing on all cylinders and will win most games for us, if we're in the crunch. Thus, I'm not worried, since I don't expect to see him do back-to-back 40+ min games.

I agree with most of what you said, but to be fair, Ray was injured in 08 and whenever Artest Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.ed him up last year

[KobeShesNotConsenting!]

Pierce is NOT our best player, come on. KG is our best player and im not sure it's even close. With kg, you're talkin about maybe a top 15 player of all time, one of the best defenders we've ever seen. Just look at the c's before KG and since KG. Even Pierce has admitted on 'Association' KG is the key to number 18 so it's just silly to say pierce is better than him.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Pierce is NOT our best player, come on. KG is our best player and im not sure it's even close. With kg, you're talkin about maybe a top 15 player of all time, one of the best defenders we've ever seen. Just look at the c's before KG and since KG. Even Pierce has admitted on 'Association' KG is the key to number 18 so it's just silly to say pierce is better than him.

All good and well, but does it have anything to do with this year? Not saying I disagree with you since I think KG might be our best player myself, but what Pierce is doing this year should not go unnoticed either.

[TitleMaster]

Ubuntu (not just the Linux brand) is fine and dandy, however, realize ... there will be games (see game 7 '08 Semi-Conf w/ Cavaliers) where someone will need to put on the cape and dazzle.

That man is Pierce 

And during that game, it doesn't mean that no one else is contributing.

[KobeShesNotConsenting!]

Pierce is NOT our best player, come on. KG is our best player and im not sure it's even close. With kg, you're talkin about maybe a top 15 player of all time, one of the best defenders we've ever seen. Just look at the c's before KG and since KG. Even Pierce has admitted on 'Association' KG is the key to number 18 so it's just silly to say pierce is better than him.

All good and well, but does it have anything to do with this year? Not saying I disagree with you since I think KG might be our best player myself, but what Pierce is doing this year should not go unnoticed either.

I'm not ignoring what pierce is doing at all, but it seems like the OP is ignoring what KG does.
But after thinking about it a lil more, saying 'it's not close' between kg and paul is probably too strong, but only in the context of importance to the team, not in the context of whose gonna go down as the better player. Both their services are crucial to the team. KG is the reason we're able to be a defensive juggernaut, while pierce is our clutch closer and professional scorer. I'm positive we would struggle often to close out tight games without pierce, but would those games even be tight without KG? Tough question but i still lean towards kg.

[clover]

Always has been ... but KG has been right behind him since he came. The beauty is, they each respect each other and defer to each other when it comes to taking the "spotlight", but even KG knows when it comes to crunch time, "Get Paul the ball and get out of the way!" He is one of the greatest "clutch" players of all time, and in my opinion, will never get the credit he deserves.

That's why I was so incredibly pleased when he got the Finals MVP award ... it was about time! He was the only thing that kept me watching the Celtics for a number of years, and those of us that were around for the "Lean Years", know what a difficult job he had. It bugged some people when he started talking about being traded, but that was only because he was tired of carrying a mediocre team with no prospect of a Championship.

The KG/Ray trades were the result, and we owe him for that, too.

KG behind Pierce? Only through long-time homer eyes.

[Dirk360]

You guys are pretty funny. I agree Pierce is the celtics best player but he has flaws. Heres a rundown of the big 4.

Rondo: His length and quickness makes him a decent defender who can get deflections and rescue loose balls. His passing is pehnomenal as he usually gets the ball to the right guy at the right time. His floaters in the lane are dependable. Too bad his jumper is broke and he can't shoot free throws. Also, he is prone to bullEdited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.ting through certain games.

Allen: He is probably the best shooter in the nba... albeit he is streaky. His footspeeed has been reduced (due to his multiple ankle surgeriess) which makes him a mediocre defender. He does understand team defensive principles however. His passing is passable (lol) but his ballhandling is questionable as is his one on one creativity. Allen is one of the smartest players in the league and his decision making is unrivaled. Oh yeah, he is one of the most clutch players in the league. A total winner.

Pierce: Best player on the celtics. Strong as hell and can usually maneuver himself into good shots. Agressive defender (not as good as 08 though) who can play chest to chest defense. Good passer, handler, and rebounder. His one flaw is that he can now be contained by lebron (he used to destroy lebrons highly overrated defense). A clutch player but i would rather see him pullup than try to drop a shot through traffic in the lane. He is valuable because he can start his attac in the middle of the floor which means double teaming him is risky (since a short pass will lead to a wide open shooter).

Garnett: The team crazy guy. His length and quickness makes it seem like the celtics have 6 defenders out there. He is just a jumpshooter now and his rebounding has declined (but is still good). Looked intimidated when matched against howard in last years playoffs. Most people dont want to hear this but it was garnett's choke job that cost the celtics in game 7 last year. Unnessary fouls, fumbled rebounds, blown rotations. His lingering in the backcourt after a celtics made 3 screwed up the matchups and pitted rondo against odom/gasol while garnett was guarding fisher on the perimeter. you know what happened, rondo was outjumped by gasol and the game was lost.