Yardbarker: Paul Pierce

Finally, Some Rest for the Weary

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:50:30 -0500

More photos » by Jesse D. Garrabrant - NBAE/Getty Images EAST RUTHERFORD,NJ - NOVEMBER 7: Paul Pierce #34 of the Boston Celtics shoots against the New Jersey Nets during the game on November 7, 2009 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) Browse more photos » I think I once heard that the NBA season is a marathon and not a sprint, but I'd ...

Well THAT was horrible to watch

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:10:04 -0500

The line for the eye wash begins to the left. You'll need it to wash the crappiest game you'll watch all year off your retinas. That, folks, was about 48 minutes of pure crap. The good news is, the Celtics came out on top of this pile of dung 86-76... making them the only winners in this mess.

KG and Ray combined to shoot 8-26. Sheed was 3-10... including 0-4 from 3. The entire offense looked disjointed and slow all night. Lucky for them, they were playing an already bad New Jersey team that was made worse by a million injuries and a player with swine flu. A full Nets squad might have blown the C's out tonight.

Alright, let's get to some positives:

The Celtics had 20 steals. 20. Part of it was some good defense, part of it was New Jersey's putrid offense.
Paul Pierce scored 16 points on 8 shots. Why he only took 8 shots is beyond me. He also had 7 assists.
Rajon Rondo shot 8 of 11, and finished with 16 points, 3 assists and 5 steals with 1 turnover.
The Celtics won... and any win is a good win.

And here's the last positive: The Celtics are off until Wednesday. Hallelujah! This 4 games in 5 nights crap is too much for this team... especially when a guy like Marquis Daniels isn't around.

Here's the box score. Click it if you dare. My advice? Go have a couple of drinks, forget this night ever happened, and we'll just talk about something else in the morning. Ok?

Exclusive Red's Army discount at the official Paul Pierce store

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:21:47 -0500

We're excited to pass along an exclusive discount to the official Paul Pierce online store.

Just head on over, pick out what you want, and use the discount code REDSARMY15 to get 15 percent off your purchase.

This exclusive deal for Red's Army readers lasts for the next week... so take advantage of the discount while it's here.

Paul Pierce on Antoine, and what President Clinton did with his fiancee

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:05:12 -0500

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Paul Pierce was on Dale & Holley today and he talked about all sorts of things, including the Rajon Rondo incident with Chris Paul... what he's doing to stay in better shape this year... Antoine Walker's money problems (and what he's done to make sure he's not in the same boat)... and what President Clinton did with his fiancee.

Worth checking out.

Celtics/Wolves Preview & Live Blog Promo

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:24:28 -0500

Celtics (5-0) vs. Minnesota (1-3)

Game time: 8pm Target Center, Minneapolis. TV - CSN; Radio - WEEI-AM (850)

Team Leaders

Scoring
Bos: Pierce - 21.6 Wolves: Al Jefferson - 16.5

Rebounding
Bos: Pierce - 6.8 Wolves: Ryan Gomes - 8.0

Assists
Bos: Rondo - 10.4 Wolves: J. Flynn - 3.3

Who'll go off: Paul Pierce. Ray Allen. Rajon Rondo. Anyone wearing green. Sorry, but I have little faith in the Wolves defense. With Kevin Love out with a hand injury, Al Jefferson is getting little help in the front court. Look for KG and Co. to feast on Gomes, Brian Cardinal, Ryan Hollins and, gasp, Mark Blount.

Who needs to be stopped: Big Al. Al Jefferson is the only legitimate scoring threat on this team. He went for 34 points (15-21 FG) and 11 rebounds in his last game against the Celtics. He's still recovering from a bad achilles, but has averaged 22 points in his last two games.

The C's will lose if... the bus breaks down en route to the arena. Seriously, if they turn the ball over repeatedly or shoot poorly they can lose. But that logic applies to any team.

Wildcard: The back-to-back factor. The Celtics are an older team, and older guys generally have a tough time on the second night of back-to-back games. Fortunately, the starters got plenty of rest during the 4th quarter of last night's blowout over Philly.

We will be having a live game blog - starting promptly at 8pm. Click here to join.

After the jump, my advanced scouting on the Wolves dancers.

Your Morning Dump... where the second unit is just too much

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:22:57 -0500

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying a good morning dump.

The Celtics opened the fourth quarter with a 69-54 lead. That’s a comfortable margin, but it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see the starters back on the floor at some point to finish it off. Instead, the bench pushed the lead to 33 points and the starters never had to take off their warmups again. Those kinds of unexpected gifts are invaluable over the course of the season.

Paul Flannery - WEEI Fast Break Celtics-Sixers

Chuck put the number in last night's recap. The C's bench outscored Philly's bench 62-25. They started the 4th with Marquis Daniels, Rasheed Wallace, Shelden Williams, Eddie House, and Ray Allen. The C's went on 16-4 run without Ray scoring once in that stretch to put the game away before Ray sat for good.

We have to keep in mind that this is still Philly we're talking about. And while they're young and talented, they're still nowhere near the C's. But the C's have had problems with young, athletic teams that might not have been up to their level in the past (Chicago, Atlanta). And I'll take 23 minutes for KG, 31 minutes for Paul Pierce and 31 minutes for Ray Allen wherever I can get it.

“They take a lot of pressure off us,’’ Paul Pierce said. “We saw it early, the potential of our bench. Hopefully, they’ll continue to do the things to make them play great.

“The more rest the better. That means we’re playing well, and, knowing it’s a long season, it’s going to pay off late in the season.’’

Pierce said the intrasquad scrimmages have improved both the starters and the second unit.

“It’s tough to stop them, actually, and that’s why I think our defense is so good,’’ Pierce said, “because if we stop them, we can pretty much stop anybody.’’

Globe: C's keep the beat going

After the jump, Page 2, where Rondo had the play of the day.

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Chuck linked to it last night, but it's worth seeing again. Rajon Rondo from behind the backboard to beat the first quarter buzzer. That, folks, is your NBA play of the day.

By the way, we're hosting another live chat tonight! It starts at 7:45. C's-TWolves starts at 8.

If you missed the Len Bias documentary, you can watch it here.

The rest of the links:

How Rondo's deal breaks down

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:38:18 -0500

Woj has the numbers:

Annual breakdown of Rondo's $55 million deal:

'10-11: $9.09 mil
'11-12: $10.04 mil
'12-13: $11 million
'13-14: $11.9 million
'14-15: $12.9 million

The $9.09 million help alleviate some of the luxury tax hit... but the C's can fill out a good roster next year. They've got 6 people under contract for sure (Pierce, KG, Sheed, Rondo, Baby, Perk). I see the team packaging Scal and TA for a longer term deal by the deadline to fill a gap and make it 7. Ray Allen will be re-signed to make it 8. Split the MLE into two pieces to bring in players 9 and 10. Also, this is Eddie House's 3rd year with the team... so they've got Bird rights on him if they want to re-sign him this summer to make it 11. And then you can fill out the last few spots with veteran minimum guys and draft picks.

The C's are going to take a luxury tax hit next year no matter what. Might as well keep the band together and see what they can do. If they need to give Marquis Daniels part of that MLE next year... or all of it... then fine (we'll see how we feel about that later). Paul Pierce could, theoretically, not exercise his option next season and take, say, 3 years, $39 million rather than the $21 mil. next year and then whatever. That saves the C's $7 million in his salary plus another $7 million in tax hit. Pierce gets guaranteed another $18 million in the deal.

The bottom line is, they have the tools to make another run. The window doesn't have to close this season.

Celtics-Hornets preview

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:58:19 -0500

Hornets (1-1) vs. Celtics (3-0)

Game time: 6pm CSN

Team Leaders

Scoring
Bos: Paul Pierce 20 ppg Hornets: Chris Paul 28.5 ppg

Rebounding
Bos: (tie) Pierce, S.Williams 7.3 rpg Hornets: Emeka Okafor 11.5 rpg

Assists
Bos: Rajon Rondo 12.3 apg Hornets: Paul 6.5 apg

Who'll go off: Paul Pierce. He's been hot so far and there's no reason to think he'll slow down. And I get the feeling that he's going to pull the veteran moves on Julian Wright and get himself to the line a lot.

Who needs to be stopped: Chris Paul seems like the obvious answer, but it's really David West that needs to be stopped on New Orleans. Kevin Garnett has problems with West, who often tends to have big games against the C's. Obviously, if you stop Paul, you'll probably beat the Hornets. But you can withstand a big game from Paul if you keep everyone else in check. And "everyone else" begins with David West.

The C's will lose if: Rajon Rondo tries to do too much. Perk's comments aside, Rondo is sitting here looking at the last 24 hours to sign a contract extension with the Celtics... and he just so happens to be playing against the best point guard in the league. Rondo has been in total control for 3 games. But if he tries to go mano-a-mano against Chris Paul, he could throw off the entire team's flow.

Wild Card: Emeka Okafor. He can get on the boards. The one thing that has driven me a little nuts about the Celtics over the past couple of years is how they seem to give up offensive rebounds in bad situations. I wouldn't be completely shocked if Okafor spent a frustrating amount of time keeping possessions alive for the Hornets. He might be able to do that enough to keep New Orleans in the game.

8 points in a row... signed by Rajon Rondo

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:14:20 -0500

In the span of about 1:10 in the 3rd quarter last night, Rajon Rondo found Paul Pierce for 8 straight points. Those three of his 11 assists were in the form of two Pierce 3's and a Pierce fast break dunk.

And check out the :58 mark of this video... as Rajon "autographs" the ball and then just bats it away on his way back to the bench.

That's one confident young man right there.

Rondo played one hell of a game yesterday and showed one side of why he's such a great point guard. This wasn't the Rondo that we saw against the Chicago Bulls. This was facilitator Rondo... making sure every one of his teammates got his share of looks.

He only shot 6 times... and made 5 (mostly layups, as per usual). He found guys all over the floor and it was always the right guy in the right place. And he did it all in less than 30 minutes of play.

Rondo's numbers so far in two games: 21 assists, 6 steals... and 3 turnovers. THREE turnovers.

Makes you wonder if Rondo was autographing the ball... or mimicking the big contract he's earning.

Paul Pierce, The Bench Lead Way Over Cavs

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:22:41 -0500

The Celtics opened their quest for Banner 18 with a dramatic 95-89 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The big difference in this game was the Celtics bench. They turned a double-digit deficit into a 6-point halftime lead.

Paul Pierce (23 points, 11 rebounds) was clutch in the fourth quarter (10 points), nailing an 18-footer with a minute left to give the Cs a six point lead.

Other observations:

The Cavaliers started strong...building a 13-2 lead.

Celtics second unit played strong in the 2nd quarter. Add in some offense by Paul Pierce and the Celtics lead 51-45 at the break.

LeBron James may be the best ever at blocking shots on the break. He rejected a Rondo dunk attempt in the 1st, and got Ray Allen in the 3rd.

I didn't see explosiveness from KG. He seemed to get beat on rebounds and loose balls. He got burned on an alley-oop and missed a wide open dunk midway through the 4th. He finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Celtics bench outscored Cavs bench 26-10. Wallace had 12 and Daniels had 7.

Box Score | Recap

After the jump, photos from the game.

Al Horford was just kidding about Pierce (but probably not)

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:22:29 -0500

Here's how I think things went down a couple of days ago after Al Horford told the story about Paul Pierce owing him $10 grand.

Horford (in the morning): Hey funny story: Paul Pierce bet me a couple of years ago that we wouldn't win a game. We won 3... so we essentially bet on basketball and Pierce owes me money.

David Stern (from his lair): Bring the one they call "Horford" to me

Minions load into a van. This happens.

Stern to Horford: Hey idiot. The name Pete Rose mean anything to you?

Horford: Uh....

Stern: I'll put it to you another way. You were kidding about the bet with Paul Pierce. You tell everyone you were kidding. You tweet it. You facebook it. Hire a goddam skywriter. You got 'till the count of three before you end up as a water boy for some team in Turkey. Capiche? 1... 2....

Horford on Twitter:

“Some of my comments from the radio interview I did yesterday with 790 the zone were overblown. I was joking.”

“Paul Pierce and I did not make a bet during the playoffs in 2008. I do not bet on basketball or any other sports.”

Stern: Excellent. Now get out of my sight. You make me sick.

All that said... the bet totally happened. We all know it happened. But we all know his highness had to step in and make sure the world knew that everything was on the up-and-up.

So yeah.. Al... I get it. You were "joking" *wink wink".

Pierce may owe Al Horford money

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:11:51 -0500

So in all the yapping during the 2008 Celtics-Hawks series, Paul Pierce apparently bet Al Horford $10 K that the Hawks wouldn't win a single game. At least... that's what Al Horford is saying

Today, on 790 the zone, Al Horford told a story that happened sometime during the first two games of 2008 playoff series with Boston. Pierce and Al were jawing at each other standing at the free throw line. Realizing talk is cheap, they made a 10,000 dollar wager over whether the Hawks would win a game in the series or not.

Well, the Hawks actually won three, and Horford has yet to receive any money. I don't think Paul can plead ignorance. If I recall correctly, Horford made it pretty clear the Hawks won that first one.

Nice to see Al is prompt with his payment demands.

At least he's got something to be proud of. "Yeah... we ended up losing the series... but at least Pierce owes me money."

(Peachtree Hoops, by way of BDL)

Chamillionaire Says MJ Is One Rude Bastard

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:57:01 -0500

Hip-hop artist/rapper Chamillionaire was a huge Michael Jordan fan, until he met up with his Airness at a recent party.

Let's just say Jordan wasn't kind to Chamillionaire's request for a photo.

According to Chamillionaire, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen witnessed the incident and took some pictures with him after the Jordan bitch-slapping.

For the record, I did not know who Chamillionaire was, until I googled his name. I'm hoping some of our younger readers might appreciate this story, because I don't give a damn about this dude's hurt feelings.

(Warning - Video contains NSFW language. Thanks to KWAPT for the link)

Rashoid Lewis Upset With Pierce's Tweet

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:30:00 -0500

Back in June, when the Lakers were embarrassing the Orlando Magic, Paul Pierce sent out this tweet:

Lakers vs orlando. Looked like a german sherperd vs a poodle that's ok the rotwieler celtics will b back in 2o10

Not surprisingly, the subject was brought up at Orlando's Media day and dramatically over-hyped by Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel:

Magic forward Rashard Lewis, during the team's Media Day Monday, took umbrage with Pierce's Twitter remark and went after Pierce not like a poodle but like a pitbull.

When a reporter brought up the Orlando Poodles comment made by Pierce, Lewis emphasized the fact that Pierce made his remark on Twitter. And you know what that means?

It means, Lewis said, Pierce was "at home" tweeting while the Magic were playing for the NBA championship.

Excellent point.

Wow. Lewis said Pierce was "at home" while he was playing in the finals? Bold words. This is a classic example of a reporter/columnist trying to make something out of nothing.

Lewis probably wanted to fire back at Pierce, but thought better of it considering he's serving a 10-game suspension for taking a banned performance enhancing substance.

Pierce Pissed Off About Replacement Refs

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:46:14 -0500

(Warning: Video contains NSFW language)

Paul Pierce is not happy that the league is willing to start the season with replacement referees:

“I think it’s terrible that they don’t have a deal in place,” Pierce said. “The league needs to step up and get it in place. Last [season] they talked about difficulties with the refs … and I’m like, ‘These guys have been around all these years and now you’re throwing out replacement refs?’

“Just talking to other NBA guys and getting a feel about how they feel, a lot of them aren’t happy about it.”

“You get a guy who refereed YMCA games, you’re trying to get him to go out there and referee pro games?” Pierce said. “…Hopefully they can get a deal in place and move forward.”

The Truth has every right to be upset. Quite frankly, I'm surprised more players aren't speaking out about the issue. They'd better do it now, because once the season starts, replacement refs or not, officiating criticism will cost them cash.

I see both sides of this story. Business is business and the league needs to draw the line somewhere in salary negotiations with the referee union.