Re: Where did Paul Pierce go?

[j.hironaka@unesco.org]

World class post, Thomas. Way above the curve.

Among other things, I think your post reinforces the case that Pitino should
put Pierce and Mercer on different units. Either guy would immediately
strengthen the bomb squad, while Battie could give our stahters the shot
blocking (and rebounding) to complement Vitaly Potapenko's game.

But in the end, it probably still boils down to RP teaching a basic playbook
that gives his scorers better shots and passing options. If Bill Fitch (or KC)
had this young lineup, I have no doubt we'd see plenty of bread & butter plays
on offense, with improvement through repetition game after game. I know
basketball is far more complicated then that, but Bird and DJ were running the
same set plays every game, just as Malone and Stockton do now. Teams like that
are going to whup teams like ours in the fourth quarter every time. As
K.Kveraga most recently noted, it's not necessarily a matter of deficient
talent or maturity. Personally, I think the talent is there, and the effort is
probably there, and I still love this team.

I cut most of your post because it is long, but I think it is well worth
rereading. It says original and relevant things without being judgemental, and
it is backed up by facts whenever it needs to be.

Joe


P.S. Oh and welcome back Noah Evans. Were you really lurking all this time, or
working under one of the several pseudonyms out there?

****

Thomas Murphy wrote:

> Where did Paul Pierce go?
>
> Many have commented on the difference between the Pierce of February and
> the Pierce of March. The numbers certainly bear out the comments: from 20.4
> ppg to 9.2 ppg and 7.1 rpg to 4.8 rpg. People have also speculated on what
> might be responsible for the precipitous drop in production. (........)