Don't let Pierce's game today fool you!

[kenmaine]

It is time to blow this thing up. I am glad that Danny realizes it. I am glad that the ownership appear to agree as well. This is the perfect time to send him packing if you are going to do it because maybe we can get a GM to believe that he has enough in the tank to push them over the top. When Ray gets back and recovered from that ankle we can start shopping him. KG is likely to be a tougher guy to get rid of since he is definitely the most beat down of the three.

Definitely!  Definitely!  Definitely!

Because it makes MUCH more sense to ignore the fantastic season Pierce had last year and focus on the last 10 games or so.  Definitely, what Kool-Aid are C's fans drinking to think a guy who just scored 35 and nearly dropped a triple double could still carry a championship contender?  Pierce is DONE!  Much better idea to get rid of our championship winners for a bunch of question marks, and anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional.  Because building a championship team is pretty much as easy as fantasy drafting.  Come on, people, wake up!

Seriously though, I hate to break it to folks, but we will see plenty more games like this from Paul Pierce as the season goes on, barring an injury or a trade.  Yes he's in decline, but he is still a force, and is a better basketball player than 95% of the players in the league.  Sorry.

TP Junkyard. Had to sign in just to give you a tp for a great post. I can't believe how unbelievably negative so many C's fans are. Pierce should not be traded, unless the C's are eliminated and he actually wants to go.

[Celtics4ever]

I for one, want to see him do it against a winning team.   It was encouraging though.  But tonight will be the true test.  I hope the Captain brings his A game but it's a back to back and Doc rode the starters hard to beat the Wizards. 

PP being the youngest of the big three with contract that extends past 2012 is fully expected to play well in the rebuilding transition hence the longer contract.

[BASS_THUMPER]

acting like this is paul p's best game he ever played

like he did sumthin amazing...he gonna have better games and then others he may not but what he did yesterday is nothin new and should not be shocking

[CelticsFanNC]

  I didn't get to watch the game until yesterday evening due to family obligations.

  Nice revival game by Pierce.  It was very nice to see him play that way again.  The issue with older players like our big three isn't that they are not fully capable of games where they remind you of who they were at the height of their powers it is that they cannot consistently play at that level any longer.

 I remember Larry Bird in his final year coming out of the hospital where he spent the night in traction and having a revival game against Portland on National TV.  He was hitting everything and reminded the world of exactly who he once was.  We never saw that Larry Bird again except on ESPN classic or on highlight reels.  This is a similar situation although Pierce still has more in the tank then Larry Legend had at that late date in his stellar career.

  Games like that are exactly why our Big Three may yet have some trade value among contending teams.  Contending teams already have great players in their primes but still need a boost like that once a week or a couple of times per month.  Older former superstars can still bring that to a contender, they just cannot bring it or be expected to bring it every night or carry a team for a couple of weeks like they once could.

  Treasure those kind of games from our Big Three while they still wear green.  That's not being negative it is being realistic.

[Roy H.]

I think a lot of folks are misremembering Pierce's decline.  He's fallen off, maybe, but he hasn't fallen off *that* far.

Last year:  18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.6 blocks, 49.7% FG% (career high), 86.0% FT% (career high), 37.4% 3PT%, .620 TS% (career high), .551 eFG% (career high)

Paul Pierce is still an elite player, who is working through some injuries and rust right now.

[lepoooo]

19 points a game = elite?

He could not even create his own shot last year against the Heat in the clutch. It's great to shoot efficiently, it's better to win games and to contend in the PO.

He drops 34 on the worst team in the league, with RA and RR out, and he is back to elite level?

We'll see tonight

[CelticsFanNC]

I think a lot of folks are misremembering Pierce's decline.  He's fallen off, maybe, but he hasn't fallen off *that* far.

Last year:  18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.6 blocks, 49.7% FG% (career high), 86.0% FT% (career high), 37.4% 3PT%, .620 TS% (career high), .551 eFG% (career high)

Paul Pierce is still an elite player, who is working through some injuries and rust right now.

  Do you honestly believe he can play that way again tonight or again this week.  Do you believe he can carry a team for a month like he once could?  I'm just asking.

  I don't.   I think he can have a game like that once a week or so and with this team as it is currently constructed that's just not enough.  This team was built in 2007-08 as a team that  relied on Pierce and Allen to get you 40 ppg between the two of them night in and night out.  KG would chip in with 15, we'd play great defense and that would be enough.   it worked longer then anyone ever dreamed it would back then but those days are passed IMO. The Big Three cannot be counted on for 55-60 ppg any longer.  That's the issue with these Celtics.  They're being paid like star players in their prime but they can no longer produce as consistently as star players in their prime.

  Tonight will be the true test.  Can Paul Pierce back up one great game with another.  Will he have the legs to do it again tonight?

[CelticsFanNC]

19 points a game = elite?

He could not even create his own shot last year against the Heat in the clutch. It's great to shoot efficiently, it's better to win games and to contend in the PO.

He drops 34 on the worst team in the league, with RA and RR out, and he is back to elite level?

We'll see tonight

  Many of the people clinging to the Big Three of a few years ago also happen to be people who don't care much for Rondo. They refuse to admit that the biggest reason by far that Ray and Pierce were more efficient last season then they have ever been in their long careers was due to Rondo.  Rondo made them look better then they really are because he creates everything for them so they can just go to their sweet spots and wait for the ball rather then having to create offense for themselves which they can no longer do with any consistency.

[Junkyard Dawg]

Do you honestly believe he can play that way again tonight or again this week.  Do you believe he can carry a team for a month like he once could?  I'm just asking.

  I don't.   I think he can have a game like that once a week or so and with this team as it is currently constructed that's just not enough.  This team was built in 2007-08 as a team that  relied on Pierce and Allen to get you 40 ppg between the two of them night in and night out.  KG would chip in with 15, we'd play great defense and that would be enough.   it worked longer then anyone ever dreamed it would back then but those days are passed IMO. The Big Three cannot be counted on for 55-60 ppg any longer.  That's the issue with these Celtics.  They're being paid like star players in their prime but they can no longer produce as consistently as star players in their prime.

  Tonight will be the true test.  Can Paul Pierce back up one great game with another.  Will he have the legs to do it again tonight?

What exactly are you looking for from PP?  He had 19.6 ppg in 2008, and 18.9 last year.  Ray Allen had 17.4 in 08, 16.5 last year.  If you want to say that's "falling off", I will laugh at you, but technically I guess you're correct.

If PP "only" had a game like that "once a week or so",  (meaning 30+ points and a near triple double), he would be drawing comparisons to LeBron.  So realistically, no I don't think anyone expects games like that from PP every week.  We do expect that he'll continue to perform at about the same level he did last year, which was enough to lead the 2nd best team in the NBA and many pundits calling them favorites to return to the finals, until the Perk trade.

[CelticsFanNC]

  Paul Pierce falling off it what we have seen from him this season.  Games where he has no legs and no arch on his jumper.  Games where he cannot finish around the hoop like he once could.  Games where he is missing wide open shots he has hit his entire career.

  Falling off is him not being able to get his shot off in the playoffs last season against LBJ, a guy who he played to a standstill against head to head a couple of years ago in the exact same situation.

  Falling off is his defense not being up to the level we have become accustomed to these past few seasons.

  I kind of resent the fact that I always end up sounding like a hater of the "old three" because people around here cannot let go of what they once were and come to grips with who they are now.  I respect these guys as much as anyone here. I treasure the memories they gave all of us.  I am just in touch with what they have become and am not clinging to what they once were like so many around here are. 

[Moranis]

  Paul Pierce falling off it what we have seen from him this season.  Games where he has no legs and no arch on his jumper.  Games where he cannot finish around the hoop like he once could.  Games where he is missing wide open shots he has hit his entire career.

  Falling off is him not being able to get his shot off in the playoffs last season against LBJ, a guy who he played to a standstill against head to head a couple of years ago in the exact same situation.

  Falling off is his defense not being up to the level we have become accustomed to these past few seasons.

  I kind of resent the fact that I always end up sounding like a hater of the "old three" because people around here cannot let go of what they once were and come to grips with who they are now.  I respect these guys as much as anyone here. I treasure the memories they gave all of us.  I am just in touch with what they have become and am not clinging to what they once were like so many around here are. 

exactly.

[Celtics18]

  Paul Pierce falling off it what we have seen from him this season.  Games where he has no legs and no arch on his jumper.  Games where he cannot finish around the hoop like he once could.  Games where he is missing wide open shots he has hit his entire career.

  Falling off is him not being able to get his shot off in the playoffs last season against LBJ, a guy who he played to a standstill against head to head a couple of years ago in the exact same situation.

  Falling off is his defense not being up to the level we have become accustomed to these past few seasons.

  I kind of resent the fact that I always end up sounding like a hater of the "old three" because people around here cannot let go of what they once were and come to grips with who they are now.  I respect these guys as much as anyone here. I treasure the memories they gave all of us.  I am just in touch with what they have become and am not clinging to what they once were like so many around here are. 

I fully recognize that Paul Pierce is less athletic than he was four seasons ago.  He was less athletic last year than in '08, but the guy is still a heck of a basketball player. 

I think age will lead to some more struggles throughout this 66 game preseason, but once the playoffs hit, I expect this still very talented basketball team to be dangerous.

[Vermont Green]

I still believe in the Truth!  Last year was one of the best of his career not becuase of quantity by because of efficiency.  I don't know what is going on with his foot/heel of course but I think if/when he gets over that he will be fine.  And yes, I believe he could carry the Cs against the Wizard every night, the rest of the league is another question.

And by the way, Celtics are 1-1 in the Avery Bradley era.

[33_Larry Legend_33]

The humor in these latest "lets see what PP does tonight" posts:

It's looking like No Rondo nor Ray Allen tonight...

So, if PP struggles will all the "I told ya so" comments develop here, knowing that PP is playing with no PG and no other outside scoring threat?

My guess is Orlando will smother PP...If I was SVG standing on the other sideline, I know I would.  I don't think tonight will prove much anything if 2/5th's of our starting lineup are out...  ANYONE would struggle if this were the case...

[Celtics4ever]

I don't see us winning but I would like to see it happen.   Bass might have a big night against his old team....