Paul Pierce thinks Boston is ‘two pieces’ away from contending

Paul Pierce thinks Boston is ‘two pieces’ away from contending



Updated 6:52 PM; Today 6:52 PM



Broadcaster and former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce shouts at former teammate and Cleveland Cavaliers center Kendrick Perkins before Game 7 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals between the Celtics and the Cavaliers, Sunday, May 27, 2018, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)AP



By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com



Like most Celtics fans, Paul Pierce watches this year’s team and is puzzled by a lack of consistency.

“You know, I see a team that could possibly lose the first round, or a team that could possibly make it to the Conference Finals,” Pierce said of this group’s outlook. “You know, night in and night out, sometimes you don’t know which Celtics team you are gonna get,”

Pierce, who spoke to MassLive.com as part of the Celtics’ newly unveiled partnership with Bushmills Whiskey, has watched the team plenty over the course of the season as both an analyst and fan. He didn’t hold back about what he saw the team’s problems as after a 20-20 start to the year.

“There’s nights where they look like world beaters, and then I just think they’ve just been inconsistent and maybe that has a lot to do with players in and out of the lineup, missing out on Marcus Smart for so long really hurt,” Pierce said. “They look like pretty much who they are, a middle-of-the-pack team right now. They don’t have any depth, Kemba hasn’t been consistently good like he has in the past. Maybe it’s because his injury or he’s getting up there in age.”

The lack of a reliable supporting cast for All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown brings back memories for Pierce to a partnership at the very beginning of his career in boston.

“You know what this team reminds me of? It reminds me of my younger days with me and Antoine,” Pierce explained. “You have two All-Stars, capable of going off at any night and hope that you get help from the other guys but we hit our peak with the conference finals (in 2002), and that’s what I see from this team.”

Ultimately, Danny Ainge pulled the plug on that young duo after getting swept in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2003, opting to ship out Antoine Walker in a blockbuster deal for Raef LaFrentz months later which began a slow rebuild. The Celtics ultimately got back to contending in 2008 but Pierce thinks a lesson could be learned from those lost years.

“You know, I wish we could have built on that squad with me and Antoine,” he said. “And that’s what the Celtics have to learn from. You have two guys that don’t come around often. When you look around the league, how many teams have two All-Stars. They have to do a good job, moving forward, of just surrounding these guys with better pieces, or adding pieces that can bring consistency.”

With the trade deadline just one week away, Pierce wants the Celtics to be aggressive in giving their top stars some help, but he thinks it will take more than one move to get it done. Even a high-profile name like Harrison Barnes may not be enough to push the needle for this group in Pierce’s mind.

‘They may be two pieces away because you know when you say Harrison Barnes, (they also lost) Gordon Hayward (from last year). I mean I don’t see like a big difference in talent disparity right there. That’s what they had the last year. And so it would have to be the addition of Harrison Barnes and another player because losing Hayward really hurt this squad. He gave them the versatility on both ends of the court to where they can play a switching style defense, and stretch the court on offense with those four offensive weapons including Kemba. Not having him really hurt them as far as that and it cut into their depth as well.”

No matter what path the Celtics front office takes in the next week, Pierce doesn’t see this group righting the ship to compete with top contenders in the East as they are currently composed after a .500 start to the year.

“These guys are good players but, you know you need more consistent players who you can rely on each and every night because if Tatum and Brown aren’t playing well, (the team) struggles,” Pierce explained. “They’re a piece or two away, depends on which piece that is, from really people talking about them being a championship contender. As they’re constructed right now, you know they can give a team a scare, but they’re not really there yet as far as championship contending.”


Bob
MY NOTE:  I agree with The Truth.  I've been saying those pieces should be a floor general and a big but that's just my opinion.  RWill is coming along quite nicely, thank you very much, but I don't think this 3-headed monster is going to cut it unless they all play well.  If Theis has a good game but Tristan doesn't I don't know if Theis and RWill can get it done, and if Theis has a bad game then Thompson and RWill will be competing for space underneath the basket because Theis is the only real outside threat of those 3.  Ball handling?  Pritchard is a ball handler but being an NBA point guard is a multi-year project unless you're exceptional like CP3 or John Stockton or Kyrie and, even then, it took Stockton 3 seasons before he became the obvious future HOFer John Stockton.  Danny can use that big TPE to fix one of these problems but I think he's either going to have to get very lucky or give up someone we don't want to give up to get that 2nd piece.


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Bob, I love Marcus Smart, but, in the past year, not only has he played defense, he has tried (and at times been successful) as an offensive threat. The problem is, he can kill us at times. So, where does he fit here? Is he ready to be our defensive specialist and let the shooters shoot? There are times teams are backing off on him because they say
“Go ahead. We are not afraid of your shot”. I know he has hit some big ones, but he has missed some big ones too. I love the guy, I hate it when he is out, but, where does he fit???? Sixth man??? He has worked so hard to get where he is, is he the one we will have no choice but to give up? I sure hope not, but this is a problem

Rosalie

We were all setup to lose game 7 against the Raptors.  But we had Marcus and he made the huge Block on Powell who was lightening us up in the 4th QTR and was destined to score on a fast break.  It was truly a tremendous play.  

Marcus is an enigma but he is our glue guy.  Go back further and we got by the Bucks in a tough playoff series.  No GH and KI.  Marcus was hurt at the start of the series.  He managed to come back and it stabilized the team and we won.

Does he take ill advised shots?  Yes he does.  I have learned to weigh both sides and in the end it still favors having him on this team.

I have started to figure this thing out.  We are in a bridge year.  Danny has to reconfigure the roster.  He has to pair it down.  That task cannot be accomplished this season.  Danny cannot use the big TPE without moving a big contract.  The Celtics will not be able to afford Jaylen, Jayson, Kemba and the big TPE acquisition. Danny has already given us an indication on who that guy is. This situation would have been the same if we were able to keep GH.

We have several young guys on this team that should be retained and developed.  We also have several young guys on this team that will have to be moved.

I am very disappointed in where this team is right now but now is today and tomorrow is another day.

I don't think this will be a very popular post, but I don't know if you can be a contender when your two best players are 23 and 24 years old. The two J's have been so impressive and developed so quickly that we sometimes forget how young they are. When they start doing boneheaded iso-ball things it's not so much they are becoming selfish players, its more reverting to old habits. Growing up, these guys could take anyone one-on-one or even one-or-two, so they sometimes revert to that mindset, particularly during stressful parts of games. It takes a long time to learn how to win in the modern NBA, a long time to learn that it is necessary to give up some control for the benefit of the team. From everything I see, it certainly looks like JT and JB are good, coachable kids who desperately want to win and be great, so I still think they will get it, and when they do, look out league. It just might not happen this year or next. If we want to stick with this core, we might have to wait until JT, JB, MS, and RWIII are all in the second half of their 20s. Hopefully sooner, but learning to be a champion is a long and painful journey.

Shamrock1000 wrote:I don't think this will be a very popular post, but I don't know if you can be a contender when your two best players are 23 and 24 years old. The two J's have been so impressive and developed so quickly that we sometimes forget how young they are. When the start doing boneheaded iso-ball things it's not so much they are becoming selfish players, its more reverting to old habits. Growing up, these guys could take anyone one-on-one or even one-or-two, so they sometimes revert to that mindset, particularly during stressful parts of games. It takes a long time to learn how to win in the modern NBA, a long time to learn that it is necessary to give up some control for the benefit of the team. From everything I see, it certainly looks like JT and JB are good, coachable kids who desperately want to win and be great, so I still think they will get it, and when they do, look out league. It just might not happen this year or next. If we want to stick with this core, we might have to wait until JT, JB, MS, and RWIII are all in the second half of their 20s. Hopefully sooner, but learning to be a champion is a long and painful journey.

Rock,

+1.  I've been saying all along that youth is overrated if you're intending to compete for a Championship.  Our last Championship bench had a few kids (e.g. Big Baby, Tony Allen and Powe) but who really lead that bench in the playoffs were 29 year old Eddie House, 31 year old James Posey and 38 year old PJ Brown.  And our starters weren't kids neither.  Pierce, Ray and KG were all in their 30s.  Only Rondo, a point guard prodigy, and Perk were starters in the first half of their 20s and they were supporting characters (especially Perk).  The Big 3 were all grizzled veterans with a minimum of 9 years (Pierce) league experience.  Look at the 1985-1986 Championship team.  They were youngish but they had 4 indisputable future HOFers in that starting lineup, including two that may be the best to ever play their position.  The bench was 9 year veteran Bill Walton (also a future HOFer and one of the best to ever play his position), 11 year veteran Scott Wedman (and a 1X All-Star) and Jerry Sichting who was in his 5th year.  Our bench wasn't young that year neither.  Look at today's Lakers.  How many kids do you see on that roster?  Caruso (20mpg), McKinnie (5.2mpg) and Kuzma (26mpg) are 3rd year players.  They have a player in his 2nd year playing 18mpg.  They have no rookies.  None. Zero.  Bupkiss.  Zilch.  I'm willing to give Pritchard some slack.  I might even be willing to give Nesmith some slack.  The rest can and should go.  To be clear, I'm talking about every player from 8 down, except maybe for AN.  So PP, RW and AN stays (Theis and Thompson stay, although if we part with Thompson for the right player I'm good with that, and the Js and Smart and Kemba stay although Kemba for the right player is ok with me too) and Semi, GW, JeT, Carsen, Romeo and Javonte should all go.  If not by this trade deadline then during the next offseason.  It's not that I don't like them, for the most part I do, they're just not going to get us over the hump to the Promised Land and it's all about 18.


Bob


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I do not consider Marcus Smart a "kid". He is a veteran. And I am not pounding the floor for him to go, I love the guy, mostly because I love defense. You are right about the rest, and I have basically said that most of the year. You can only hold on to a guy for so long waiting for him to produce, and Romeo has been collecting a good paycheck for two years for almost no production. Other teams would have dumped him by now. I "think" he has talent, but it is put up or shut up time. I will not give up on our young J's, they have shouldered a big responsibility this year and with all that has gone on and the schedule we have played, sometimes I wonder how they can get out there and even run up and down the court. Remember, they were with the USA team, played last year, then had a short break and were right back at it. They are entitled to some slack. I would like a backup for Tatum who we can count on, but who that is and is there really someone out there right now? I do not know. The
thought of not having Marcus Smart on this team is unnerving to me!!! I love the guy, this is why Danny gets paid the big bucks!!

My other thought is, at his size, why Robert Williams does not play the four spot more? I will say one thing, I am not one of those people who is screaming from him to be on the floor for 35 minutes. I personally do not think his body can handle it right how. As they continue to build him up, that day may come.

Tonight is a new night, another game and hopefully a W, one thing I will never do is give up on them

RosalieTCeltics wrote:I do not consider Marcus Smart a "kid".  He is a veteran.  And I am not pounding the floor for him to go, I love the guy, mostly because I love defense.  You are right about the rest, and I have basically said that most of the year. You can only hold on to a guy for so long waiting for him to produce, and Romeo has been collecting a good paycheck for two years for almost no production.  Other teams would have dumped him by now.  I "think" he has talent, but it is put up or shut up time.  I will not give up on our young J's, they have shouldered a big responsibility this year and with all that has gone on and the schedule we have played, sometimes I wonder how they can get out there and even run up and down the court. Remember, they were with the USA team, played last year, then had a short break and were right back at it.  They are entitled to some slack. I would like a backup for Tatum who we can count on, but who that is and is there really someone out there right now? I do not know.  The
thought of not having Marcus Smart on this team is unnerving to me!!! I love the guy, this is why Danny gets paid the big bucks!!  

My other thought is, at his size, why Robert Williams does not play the four spot more?  I will say one thing, I am not one of those people who is screaming from him to be on the floor for 35 minutes.  I personally do not think his body can handle it right how.  As they continue to build him up, that day may come.

Tonight is a new night, another game and hopefully a W, one thing  I will never do is give up on them

Rosalie - you raise some very difficult but important questions. Indeed, putting a quantifiable minutes/dollars value on someone like Smart, whose strengths are intangibles (non-quantifiable by definition) is difficult; that is why people like Danny get paid so much money. No way am I giving up on the Js - that would be crazy!!!! When the are 27 and 28, after 8 years in the league together, those lightbulbs will turn on, and when they do, the Js will be a force to be reckoned with. Regarding RWIII playing the 4, my guess is that his inability to shoot outside makes him incompatible with Brad's system (and most modern NBS systems).

Now, Romeo and Aaron - I just don't get Brad's development philosophy sometimes. Seems like he has bent over backwards to develop GW and Semi, and let's face it - it just ain't happenin' for either of them. It took RWIII showing ridiculous potential and fans/writers clamoring to givw him more court time for Brad to begin to finally play and develop him. If we are going to be an ~ 0.500 team, why not develop the kids with the most potential even if they are not currently the most polished? Don't tell me it is a coach's nature to want to win. It is a coach's nature to want to win a championship, and a professional coach should have enough vision to understand sacrificing a little in the short run can lead to huge gains in the long run. I am not anti-Brad - still think he is, overall, a great coach - just don't get this aspect of his player development philosophy.

well, Smart, Jason and Jaylen all developed under Brad. I think if Romeo had stayed healthy, he would have played more and more minutes. But his inability to get on the floor and stay is a real issue. As far as Nesmith is concerned, I don't understand, but to me, there is a reason why he all of a sudden lost his shot at getting on the floor more often. Puzzling, but, in my mind, Brad is no fool, there is something we all do not see that went on.

RosalieTCeltics wrote:well, Smart, Jason and Jaylen all developed under Brad.  I think if Romeo had stayed healthy, he would have played more and more minutes.  But his inability to get on the floor and stay is a real issue.  As far as Nesmith is concerned, I don't understand, but to me, there is a reason why he all of a sudden lost his shot at getting on the floor more often.  Puzzling, but, in my mind, Brad is no fool, there is something we all do not see that went on.

Rosalie,

Summer League and camp and pre-season are very important for rookies.  Very important.  Neither Nesmith nor Pritchard had SL and Nesmith only had a limited pre-season, as did they all.  Brad had less time to integrate new players like Thompson and Teague in those short 2 weeks.  Why has Pritchard gotten playing time and flourished while Nesmith withered on the bench?  Hard for us on the outside looking in to say, of course, but Pritchard was a 4 year player at Oregon and was PAC-10 POY.  Nesmith was a 2-year player at Vandy but missed half his sophomore season because of a hand injury.  So he hadn't played basketball in months before even getting drafted.  Four years of competition and improvement for Pritchard and only 1 1/2 years for Nesmith, with almost none in the last 7-8 months before the season started.

Romeo, as we know, has been completely snake-bitten.


Bob



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RosalieTCeltics wrote:well, Smart, Jason and Jaylen all developed under Brad.  I think if Romeo had stayed healthy, he would have played more and more minutes.  But his inability to get on the floor and stay is a real issue.  As far as Nesmith is concerned, I don't understand, but to me, there is a reason why he all of a sudden lost his shot at getting on the floor more often.  Puzzling, but, in my mind, Brad is no fool, there is something we all do not see that went on.

Of course, I totally agree regarding MS, JT, and JB. One caveat though is that injuries forced Brad's hand to a certain extent on those three, especially JB and JT - if Gordon hadn't suffered that horrific injury, no way they would have been developed like they were. I guess I just don't get Brad's initial reluctance to develop Romeo, Aaron and even initially RWII, while instead leaning on GW and Semi. Nothing against either guy, but I have watched a lot of games, and I would surely value them less than Brad does. I can't imagine Ainge loved the idea sacrificing lottery picks' development for 2nd rounders'. Of course, I am a guy typing posts in chat room and Brad is an accomplished coach who has had extraordinary success at the college and pro levels, so there is that...