Pierce to possibly miss some games (and other rumblings)
You obviously have to sit Paul, because health for the bizzilionth time is the biggest obstacle for this team standing in the way of making it back to the Finals. Pierce should have been sitting anyway with his knee infection and foot problem. So now its knee, foot and thumb correct? Man, the C's and their thumbs this year huh?
The thumb Paul Pierce sprained trying to fight through a screen against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday has made it almost impossible for him to shoot the way he wants to shoot.Pierce finished Sunday's game against the Denver Nuggets with a season-low five points on 2-of-10 shooting. Even more alarming might be the fact that he hit just one of his four free throws.
"There's some pain when I catch the ball, and it's really affecting my shot," he said. "That's the reason I'm not as aggressive."
The timing almost is perfect: Just as post presence Kevin Garnett seemed to be getting his legs back under him, scoring in double figures in his third straight game and running the floor well, Pierce is banged up again.
"Kevin looks great," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "He's getting better. My concern right now is Paul."
Pierce likely will sit down with his coach on Monday or Tuesday to have a frank discussion about whether it makes sense to have him in the lineup on Tuesday against the New York Knicks or on Thursday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"You can see it on free throws," Rivers said. "The thumb, the knee and the foot, it may have caught up to him right now. We may have to look at getting him some rest. On the surface, that's the way it looks like it's going."
What are the chances that the Vet 4 are all healthy at the same point for any prolonged period this year...or any period? Part of the reason I was cool with trading 'Sheed for Augustin when Larry Brown asked for him, and then trading a pick (either from the Bobcats or our own) for Tyrus Thomas (who by the way is averaging double digits in rebounds and has ten blocks in his first two games off the bench for Charlotte). Point is (we at CelticsLife love our tangents) it is easier to hedge your bets with injuries with one or two less vets. Oh yeah and the other reason I wanted to trade 'Sheed is because he has attempted 226 3-pointers, while hitting at a clip below 29% and while totaling all of 31 offensive rebounds for the entire season. At least 'Toine would get that many offensive rebounds in a week or two.
So in conclusion: Sit Paul Pierce (like you should have been doing anyway) and 'Sheed still sucks. Oh yeah, and despite the streaky Ray Allen going on a hot streak this past week, Danny still blew it at the deadline.
Update 9:37 via Ian Thomsen's twitter
At HBO Premiere of 'Magic + Bird' Paul Pierce says he'll likely rest his sprained right thumb for 1 week.
