Re: Steve Bulpett Talks Celtics On WEEI

[Joe Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

Way Of The Ray wrote:

> - Bulpett correctly noted that Paul Pierce was the best player on the
> team and has been since he joined the Celtics. If Pierce appears
> lackadaisical at times, it's because not many plays are run for him.

    What kind of an excuse is that? Lazy because they don't run enough
plays for him.

    I assume this is Bulpett's own interpretation and not something Rick
Pitino--or ANY coach all the way down to the youth leagues--would actually
tell him. Gimmeabreak.

    As inconsistent as he purportedly is, Pierce has been a relatively
very steady player as his college and pro stats & accolades demonstrate,
and that's what separates him from 90% of flashy players with upside that
put up half his numbers, not to mention equally athletic guys who barely
get off the bench in the NBA.

    Plus he's certainly the one Celts player about whom fans can't
complain about his salary structure and bang for the buck. Maybe he won't
get his number retired, but what kind of superior talent did Havlicek,
Reggie Lewis or Sam Jones show relative to the competition in their first
two seasons as swingmen? About the same I'd guess.

    Fans always tend to scapegoat the best players when things go bad,
rather than the overall mediocrity (and youth in our case) of the
supporting cast. It's almost like trading your best performing stocks
because your overall portfolio is underperforming.

    Judging by the numbers and their age, Antoine and Pierce are clearly
part of the solution, not part of the problem. They not only can score,
they do other stuff on the stat sheet. Mercer was never in their league,
even if he jacked up as many shots. Invest wisely or trade the three first
rounders and you might find a third talent equal to Toine and Paul. Then
you will be in business.

    Talking about worst case scenarios, I'll still bet anything Pierce
will be roughly as valuable next season (even with an impending contract
renewal) as he is now. He doesn't present the extreme risk/reward of a
Toine who conceivably might end up shooting .400 from the field and/or
getting fat, fed up and complacent.

    What's the big rush to make the playoffs next year? In the medium
term, I've never been more optimistic about the future of the Celtics
assets as I am now (except management/ownership competence). I personally
hope the players all tune out the nay-sayers and that Toine and Pierce
deliver 42 points apiece on opening night. But even an average
Pierce/Toine effort is preferable to having the almost surely overpaid
Jermaine O'Neil and "Bedtime for Bonzi" Wells.

-----