Paul Pierce

Well we've talked about Rondo, KG, Sheldon, the Lakers, but we really don't have any threads dedicated to Paul. I think he's been playing unbelieveably well this season. Obviously his shooting has been out of this world, but what I'm really impressed with is his defense this year. He constantly has his hands up on D and has been great at getting in the passing lane and disrupting the offense. I wish there was a stat for deflections because I think he'd be right up there with the league leaders. He's taken numerous charges this year and just always seems to be in the right spot. On the other side, he's playing within the offense and we really haven't seen too much ISO play from him, unless the game calls for it in the 4th. I realize we have a relatively small sampling to go from, but if he keeps up this type of play, he's going to have a career year on both the offensive side and the defensive side. Thoughts?

Kelly

If Doc can limit PP's minutes and have him fresh for the last 6-8 minutes of "grinder" games we should be in darn good shape.

beat

Kelly

I think he is the difference in games that are close. As Beat said his minutes keep him fresher this year he will win us a very good % of the barnburners.
I concur on his D. I would also say for one game you need he can shut down Kobe or LeBron.

It seemed last year he was wore out. He seems the happiest of all to have all the new guys plus a rabid wolverine KG back.

Jeb

It absolutely will help if Doc can keep his minutes down. I have visions of Pierce playing on the second unit a few years down the road and just completely destroying other teams benches. Of course that requires us getting a replacement that is better than him, which is no easy task. But hey, it's a vision, not reality!

I feel like the weight he has lost the past few seasons has added at least another year or two to his eventual retirement. How long has it been since we've seen Paul get up and slam it home like we've seen on numerous occasions this year? I always expect Paul to just lay it in when he gets near the rim, but not this year!

I also believe he can shut down Kobe or LeBron. Well maybe shut down is too strong, but he can certainly contain them. He still has that competitive fire in him that will not allow the other teams "star" to have a highlight game against him. He's always been able to match scoring with big time players, but I believe the difference this year is his committment to defense and being a team player.

Kelly,

Great point about Pierce's defense. He works hard on that end of the floor and it's payed off for the team. Still the guy I want to see with the ball in the closing seconds of a close one.

My favorite current Celtic, although it's getting hard to choose!

Regards

NYCelt, definitely hard to choose a favorite! For a lot of years it was hard to choose anyone other than Pierce as my favorite, but now I can never make up my mind. I feel like Brett Favre

Not a bad problem to have though, wouldn't you say?

Kelly,
Totally agree on PP this year. He seems to be smiling alot. He got hammered on a drive with no call and got up and beat it down the court to pick up Stoyocovich without even a frown on Sunday.
The last three years have been what I would consider his best. Playing with KG and Allen has helped him in a lot of ways not so much skill wise but more of a maturity way.
NYCelt,
Defense is awesome/underrated.
His passing is off the charts as well.
Hoop

Hoop, excellent points about Pierce seeming more happy. Even last year you would catch Paul jawing at the ref about a no call rather than just dealing with it and moving on. I think these guys know how good they can be this year if they all stay healthy. That should put a smile on their faces...it definitely puts one on mine!