The demise of the captain has been greatly exaggerated

[EJPLAYA]

just like I expected when everyone was saying he was done...paul pierce was just horribly out of shape/injured when he came back..

its taken him awhile, but it looks like hes finally got his shot back and is much more spry.

He was 6-14 tonight! He didnt exactly tear it up. yeah he had a stretch there where he hit a couple shots, but at best this was a solid game, especially when compared to the other night.  If you look at my other thread though the argument many people have is not that he is completely shot, rather he isnt good enough to carry this team anymore with KG basically done, and trading him while he still has value makes more sense.

[pearljammer10]

Folks, I don't play professional sports but yet, I use the exercise bike, 5 or more times a week, lift dumbbells 3 times per week, and cable row 2 times per week. And on my off days, I basically stretch and do some basic yoga calisthenics.

So I don't understand this being out-of-shape off season nonsense from professional athletes.

Ask Rasheed Wallace, Eddu Curry, or Chris Wilcox.... Even Wilcox was quoted this year as not being physically prepared for celtics practices saying its been the toughest practices he has been on and that he wasnt in the shape he needed to be in coming into the mini camp.

[TitleMaster]

Folks, I don't play professional sports but yet, I use the exercise bike, 5 or more times a week, lift dumbbells 3 times per week, and cable row 2 times per week. And on my off days, I basically stretch and do some basic yoga calisthenics.

So I don't understand this being out-of-shape off season nonsense from professional athletes.

Ask Rasheed Wallace, Eddu Curry, or Chris Wilcox.... Even Wilcox was quoted this year as not being physically prepared for celtics practices saying its been the toughest practices he has been on and that he wasnt in the shape he needed to be in coming into the mini camp.

And that's my point. I don't earn millions from playing a sport. Instead, I'm paid to be a fat workaholic pencil pusher but I've decided not to go that way because it's a lousy way to be.

If I were in 'Sheed's shoes, I'd be testing for a new martial arts belt, pretty much every Labor Day. I'd work myself, of course with enough rest to not pull/tear anything, pretty hard at my alternate physical training.

When I arrive in C's training camp, I'll be more like Bruce Lee (see Kareem Abdul Jabbar in "Game of Death") than Drew Carey.

[Celtics18]

agree... I never thought he was done.  And it's a [dang] good thing he isn't done.  We can't get trade value back for a washed up Paul Pierce.  This is the kind of play that makes Indiana think hard about giving up Paul George for a couple quality years out of Pierce.

Paul Pierce is still a super star, pure and simple.  I know he'll have some more sluggish games, but that dude is starting to look more and more dangerous.

Add Rajon Rondo and we have two superstars.  Throw in two really, really, really good role players in Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett and this team can be very competitive come playoff time.  Don't forget that the famous Celtic D hasn't quite left the Garden yet.

I just hope we can still make the playoffs.

[Meadowlark_Scal]

Folks, I don't play professional sports but yet, I use the exercise bike, 5 or more times a week, lift dumbbells 3 times per week, and cable row 2 times per week. And on my off days, I basically stretch and do some basic yoga calisthenics.

So I don't understand this being out-of-shape off season nonsense from professional athletes.

Neither do i ..but it seems to be an accepted practice...Americans are getting used to getting very little for their $$$..! No pro hoops player should be out of shape..around August-Sept...because that is the time to earn your pay...this year, they got a break....and still missed the boat....

[TitleMaster]

Folks, I don't play professional sports but yet, I use the exercise bike, 5 or more times a week, lift dumbbells 3 times per week, and cable row 2 times per week. And on my off days, I basically stretch and do some basic yoga calisthenics.

So I don't understand this being out-of-shape off season nonsense from professional athletes.

Neither do i ..but it seems to be an accepted practice...Americans are getting used to getting very little for their $$$..! No pro hoops player should be out of shape..around August-Sept...because that is the time to earn your pay...this year, they got a break....and still missed the boat....

Kareem had studied martial arts under Bruce Lee and had practiced yoga even when he was with the Bucks. Thus, he was able to keep it going till the age of 42. And since he'd won finals MVP at the age 38, his off season conditioning clearly paid off. So as far as I'm concerned, there's no excuse for a professional athlete, not to be in shape, using complementary exercise programs.

[BballTim]

Folks, I don't play professional sports but yet, I use the exercise bike, 5 or more times a week, lift dumbbells 3 times per week, and cable row 2 times per week. And on my off days, I basically stretch and do some basic yoga calisthenics.

So I don't understand this being out-of-shape off season nonsense from professional athletes.

  I'd say those guys could exercise significantly more than you and still be out of shape. Do you think KG and Paul are running around with beer guts out there? The term "out of shape" means something different for them than for you.

[TitleMaster]

Folks, I don't play professional sports but yet, I use the exercise bike, 5 or more times a week, lift dumbbells 3 times per week, and cable row 2 times per week. And on my off days, I basically stretch and do some basic yoga calisthenics.

So I don't understand this being out-of-shape off season nonsense from professional athletes.

  I'd say those guys could exercise significantly more than you and still be out of shape. Do you think KG and Paul are running around with beer guts out there? The term "out of shape" means something different for them than for you.

I think you've completely missed my point. I am not a professional athlete. I have no incentive to work out, besides my own personal pride in not looking like a typical office worker.

If I were independently wealthy, meaning that I didn't have to work at a desk, 50 hours per week, I'd be doing martial arts, lifting weights, yoga, etc, probably 2 hours per day, and be ready for C's training camp. I don't believe numerous professional athletes, aside from let's say Kareem (see the Bruce Lee comment) or certain members of the armed forces, have this type of dedication in getting themselves in shape, ready to take on the world.

And remember, b-ball games are only 48 minutes per contest. The Army Rangers and Navy Seals brigades have to endure a lot more, just to complete an ordinary mission, carrying a ton of equipment. I don't believe that during the off season, that these athletes are dedicated to getting themselves into top shape for the regular season. I think they basically slack off, hit the beaches, and then use the threadmill during the final week or two, before the season.

[chambers]

Folks, I don't play professional sports but yet, I use the exercise bike, 5 or more times a week, lift dumbbells 3 times per week, and cable row 2 times per week. And on my off days, I basically stretch and do some basic yoga calisthenics.

So I don't understand this being out-of-shape off season nonsense from professional athletes.

  I'd say those guys could exercise significantly more than you and still be out of shape. Do you think KG and Paul are running around with beer guts out there? The term "out of shape" means something different for them than for you.

I think you've completely missed my point. I am not a professional athlete. I have no incentive to work out, besides my own personal pride in not looking like a typical office worker.

If I were independently wealthy, meaning that I didn't have to work at a desk, 50 hours per week, I'd be doing martial arts, lifting weights, yoga, etc, probably 2 hours per day, and be ready for C's training camp. I don't believe numerous professional athletes, aside from let's say Kareem (see the Bruce Lee comment) or certain members of the armed forces, have this type of dedication in getting themselves in shape, ready to take on the world.

And remember, b-ball games are only 48 minutes per contest. The Army Rangers and Navy Seals brigades have to endure a lot more, just to complete an ordinary mission, carrying a ton of equipment. I don't believe that during the off season, that these athletes are dedicated to getting themselves into top shape for the regular season. I think they basically slack off, hit the beaches, and then use the threadmill during the final week or two, before the season.

So you do exercise on the side of working a 50 hour week.
We understand.
What you don't understand is how the term 'in shape' differs between different people.
Some people take more time to get into shape. Some people need more work to get into shape. As they get older, their bodies take more time to repair from even the smallest nagging injuries. Their bodies also need downtime from the 82 game+ playoff season they just played. Rasheed Wallace is 7 feet tall and 220 pounds. Do you think his body can adjust as easily as a normal persons with all those miles on his knees from running/jumping for 12 years in the NBA? Did you really just try to say that being in the military requires you to be in better shape?

If you're Kevin Love, you're playing 82 games at 42 minutes a game. Work that out.

Older players generally need more time to get into game shape- combine that with the fact that these guys thought they weren't going to play till February or even miss the entire season it means they didn't want to put their bodies through the mission of getting into shape- because at their age, and with that many miles on the odometer, even preparing for a season is taking its toll on your body and what you have left in the tank as an athlete.

As one guy said, you're comparing apples and oranges.
Not all men are created equal.

[Boris Badenov]

Folks, I don't play professional sports but yet, I use the exercise bike, 5 or more times a week, lift dumbbells 3 times per week, and cable row 2 times per week. And on my off days, I basically stretch and do some basic yoga calisthenics.

So I don't understand this being out-of-shape off season nonsense from professional athletes.

  I'd say those guys could exercise significantly more than you and still be out of shape. Do you think KG and Paul are running around with beer guts out there? The term "out of shape" means something different for them than for you.

I think you've completely missed my point. I am not a professional athlete. I have no incentive to work out, besides my own personal pride in not looking like a typical office worker.

If I were independently wealthy, meaning that I didn't have to work at a desk, 50 hours per week, I'd be doing martial arts, lifting weights, yoga, etc, probably 2 hours per day, and be ready for C's training camp. I don't believe numerous professional athletes, aside from let's say Kareem (see the Bruce Lee comment) or certain members of the armed forces, have this type of dedication in getting themselves in shape, ready to take on the world.

And remember, b-ball games are only 48 minutes per contest. The Army Rangers and Navy Seals brigades have to endure a lot more, just to complete an ordinary mission, carrying a ton of equipment. I don't believe that during the off season, that these athletes are dedicated to getting themselves into top shape for the regular season. I think they basically slack off, hit the beaches, and then use the threadmill during the final week or two, before the season.

I'm not sure you appreciate what is involved in elite athletic training. Most important, it is not physically possible to "stay in shape" during the offseason at in-season levels. The human body can be trained to high levels but then needs time to recover, or it will break down. It then takes time to train back to the level of fitness required to start the season. All athletic pursuits involve this ramp-up and recovery process. And leading up to the season, the sequence and focus of training is pretty regimented. (I'm talking about the KGs of the world, not the Eddy Currys...)

I think the culprits in this case were twofold. First, training camp was short, so the players did not have enough time for that phase of training. Second, it wasn't really possible for them to do the pre-training camp work at the proper level of intensity, because when the season would start was uncertain.

Think about it, if someone told you to train for a marathon (which has a highly periodized training schedule, meaning what you do 2 weeks before the race is very different than what you do 4 weeks before, etc.), but left the race date up in the air, you'd face a much more difficult problem in training.

I'm not letting the guys completely off the hook here, and there are surely guys who slacked off,  but a lot of the injuries we are seeing are among guys who have historically been known to take very good care of themselves.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Look at Ray Allen, he has to be in better shape than almost anyone in the league... yes, he came out as if he hadn't slacked off during the offseason BUT in as great shape as Ray is everyone can clearly see he has hit a wall because over the past few games (pre-injury) he has been almost nonexistent out there! These guys are in GREAT shape but GAME SHAPE and workout/fit shape is two different things, you can train and exorcise all you want but until you play games you will never truly be in GAME shape!! I think we look but have no idea what it takes to play basketball... not only do you run back and forth down a the court (even soccer players don't continuously run back and forth), they have to JUMP up and down, and dribble hold/carry/bounce a ball (in soccer the ground is pretty much carrying the ball most the time and there is FAR less jumping involved)... on top of that, they have to defend the opponent PHYSICALLY (bumping and pushing), they also have to be MENTALLY in tuned at the same time (try not thinking and paying attention and see how many times you get blown by). How well can you pay attention when you are exhausted? These guys have to do ALL of that, so believe me, they're (most) in great shape but what they need when playing the game isn't just something you can stay "in shape" for, you gotta play to get there! If this was so easy, why is it that what's young in the real world is old as a basketball player? Jordan worked out as much as you can to be great at the game, he worked his butt off during the off-season but no matter how much work you put in, there are things that you can't overcome for long, and we have a bunch of it on our team, OLD AGE!

[TitleMaster]

I hear what you guys are saying ... that regular season is more like a normal jogger running the Boston marathon versus adding an extra lap to one's daily routine. Ok, I concur there.

But here's where I disagree. During Robert Parish's offseason, he'd also practiced martial arts, just like Kareem. Well coincidentally, he also played into his early 40s. And Karl Malone's workout, albeit it was a more normal bodybuilding type of work, also extended his career quite a bit.

Thus, I believe that in general, many pro players do *take it easy* during the off season and don't treat their bodies like its their greatest investment. Remember Artest and his cognac sips, during games. Granted, that's a extreme case but I believe in general, taking it easy, see Charles Barkley's current rotunda shape, is more the norm.

And where the extra training, even for slubs like myself, pay off is when I'm ask to help someone move. I have virtually unlimited energy for the task where everyone else is bushed in no time. Likewise, a good martial arts summer regimen will show up in the fall, with all that added hand-eye body coordination training and endurance.

[kozlodoev]

just like I expected when everyone was saying he was done...paul pierce was just horribly out of shape/injured when he came back..

its taken him awhile, but it looks like hes finally got his shot back and is much more spry.

He was 6-14 tonight! He didnt exactly tear it up. yeah he had a stretch there where he hit a couple shots, but at best this was a solid game, especially when compared to the other night.  If you look at my other thread though the argument many people have is not that he is completely shot, rather he isnt good enough to carry this team anymore with KG basically done, and trading him while he still has value makes more sense.

He had some stuff going for him (at least he didn't look like he was trying to crack the rim with bricks), but all this dribbling around is simply not good basketball. And it's not the way we have won with this team.

[CelticsFanNC]

  He is fully capable of playing at the level we have become accustomed to during his stellar career.  I believe most everybody here agrees with this.

  He just isn't going to do it every night.   That's what happens with age.  It's not about his talent level.  It's not about his peaks.  It's the valleys.  The nights when the mind wants to do something but the legs wont cooperate.

  When you are relying on three guys as your primary scorers and four starters who are all in the same stage of their careers it is hard to consistently beat teams with stars players in their prime.

[CelticG1]

Folks, I don't play professional sports but yet, I use the exercise bike, 5 or more times a week, lift dumbbells 3 times per week, and cable row 2 times per week. And on my off days, I basically stretch and do some basic yoga calisthenics.

So I don't understand this being out-of-shape off season nonsense from professional athletes.

Swas
  I'd say those guys could exercise significantly more than you and still be out of shape. Do you think KG and Paul are running around with beer guts out there? The term "out of shape" means something different for them than for you.

I think you've completely missed my point. I am not a professional athlete. I have no incentive to work out, besides my own personal pride in not looking like a typical office worker.

If I were independently wealthy, meaning that I didn't have to work at a desk, 50 hours per week, I'd be doing martial arts, lifting weights, yoga, etc, probably 2 hours per day, and be ready for C's training camp. I don't believe numerous professional athletes, aside from let's say Kareem (see the Bruce Lee comment) or certain members of the armed forces, have this type of dedication in getting themselves in shape, ready to take on the world.

And remember, b-ball games are only 48 minutes per contest. The Army Rangers and Navy Seals brigades have to endure a lot more, just to complete an ordinary mission, carrying a ton of equipment. I don't believe that during the off season, that these athletes are dedicated to getting themselves into top shape for the regular season. I think they basically slack off, hit the beaches, and then use the threadmill during the final week or two, before the season.

Really what is so hard to understand? If you have played competative sports before its pretty obvious, if not, well I guess it isn't so obvious.

Its in game shape not just in shape. You get it by playing in games, not practice and not by training for a marathon. Unless he had the opportunity to play in 48 min basketball games with nba bball players you aren't going to be in shape. Not to mention that pierce was completely out with an injury anyway.