Pierce and Griffin

[opi@unesco.org]

Paul and Adrian have a game tomorrow. Pitino wants Adrian to rest his
ankle and not play too much.

Also, here are some Herald quotes concerning Alvin Williams:

``It gives us another weapon at the point because of his size,'' said
Pitino. ``Now you have a defensive weapon against the bigger, more
physical guards at that position. It creates better matchups for us
defensively.''

Said Anderson: ``Alvin is a solid point guard who handles the ball very
well. He has good size and he can defend. I think he'll fit in well
here.''




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All-Star war of words one-sided
by Steve Bulpett
Friday, February 11, 2000

Paul Pierce smiles when the subject arises. The thought of playing
against Celtics teammate Adrian Griffin in tomorrow afternoon's rookie
All-Star Game in Oakland brings a fourth-grader's laugh and a touch of
verbal mischief.

``A.G.?'' said Pierce. ``Aw, I know all his stuff, man. I'll have to
shut him down.''

Griffin rolls his eyes when the subject arises. The thought of good pal
Pierce running some lip on him doesn't goad the 25-year-old CBA refugee
in the slightest.

Told that he'll have to pick things up or Pierce will win the pregame
trash talk competition in a walkover, Griffin rolled his eyes once more.

``That's not my game,'' Griffin said, grinning. ``That's Paul. That's
not me.

``I don't talk like that. I like to sneak up on you.''

There will be no sneaking between Pierce and Griffin tomorrow.

The two are well versed in each other's game. The fact they even have
the chance to face off against one another is just one of the residual
quirks from last season's lockout-shortened schedule.

There was, of course, no All-Star Weekend last year, so the league
decided to take those who would have played in that rookie game and pit
them against this year's crop of first-year players.

``I'm glad they did it,'' said Pierce. ``I'm glad I get a chance to be a
part of it.''

And maybe a little glad he gets a chance to torture his quiet friend.

``If I get a chance to play against Adrian, then I'm going to have to
take him,'' Pierce said. ``No mercy.''

And no peace and quiet. The thought of psyching Griffin out with a cold
shoulder never even entered Pierce's mind.

``No way,'' said Pierce. ``I'm not going to give him the silent
treatment. I'm going to be all up in his ear. I like to let Adrian know.
He's a rookie. I've got to do him.

``I may be playing in the rookie game, too, but I'm not really a rookie.
I'm just playing in this game because they didn't have it when I was a
rookie last year.

``Now Adrian, he's a real rookie, and you've got to school rookies.
That's what you're supposed to do to them.''

Old School Adrian, so named by his Celtics mates, doesn't know about all
this schooling stuff. He just knows it won't be much different from  the
way things are when he regularly hooks up with Pierce at the team's
HealthPoint workout facility in Waltham.

``I guess it'll be nothing different from practice,'' Griffin said. ``We
go at each other and try to make each other better. I definitely
respect his game. I think it'll be fun.''

Interesting tactic utilized there by Griffin. Lull Pierce into a false
sense of security by taking the sentimental path to the pregame rap.

And it may have worked. Pierce seemed to loosen his stance a little.

``Aw, me and Adrian, we always go at it in practice whenever we have a
chance to match up,'' Pierce said. ``It's just a lot of fun. I think we
kind of bring out the best in each other, as far as competing and just
killing each other in practice.

``But he better watch out for me when the game starts,'' Pierce added,
smile in tow.