Reports: Doc is leaving it up to Pierce whether he takes a night off or not

Doc Rivers is leaving it up to Paul Pierce whether or not he should sit out a game to help recuperate the pinched nerve in his neck.

According to the Boston Globe, Courtney Lee said Pierce has a “get out of playing” card he has yet to cash in.

While it makes sense for Doc to let Pierce sit out a game if he asked for a night off, (it's not like Rivers is going to say, “No, you have to play through the pain”) it is confusing as to why Rivers has yet to take the matter into his own hands and sit his star.

Rivers did exactly that with Garnett right after the All-Star break and he wasn't even battling an injury, other than the usual regular season wear and tear that's expected of a 36-year old player who has logged over 52,000 minutes on the court.

Pierce has yet to miss a game this season, kind of crazy for a guy who is 35 years old, logged almost 45,000 minutes himself and been reportedly battling the neck injury for over two months.

Not benching Pierce yet means one of two things, Doc is either giving Pierce the option to sit until he forces "The Truth" to the bench, or the injury really is just a nagging one that rest won't do much to correct.

Expect Doc to pull Pierce some time soon for either health or fatigue reasons as the postseason approaches, because we all know Pierce is not going to willingly sit the bench with his team battling through so many injuries already and Boston trying to get a better seeding in the playoffs.

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