Pierce and Johnson

["j.hironaka" <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

At 08:26 10/10/01 -0400, you wrote:
>Joe, I also saw those quotes and felt a little uneasy. Let's face it, the
>knock on Joe Johnson was that he tended to coast and not play especially
>hard. So it's a little disturbing when we see, before the first preseason
>games, quotes from our best player saying Johnson has to play harder.

It could be (that is to say, I prefer to believe) that Paul Pierce is just 
giving advice based on his own experience as a rookie. He developed a soft 
reputation on both ends of the floor during his rookie year after the ankle 
twist, and none of us doubt that Pierce is as tough a competitor as you'll 
find.  If Paul Pierce struggled with his killer instinct and focus as a 
rookie, then surely its worthwhile in his role as captain to convey this 
sort of advice to Joe Johnson, the most likely rookie contributor from the 
get go. There's no indication his overall positive comments about Joe 
Johnson's talent and court sense aren't genuine.

Yes, Pierce was a significantly more consistent scorer and better rebounder 
than Joe Johnson when they both left school at the same age. Pierce was 
first team All NCAA after all.

On the other hand, JJ had as good an all-around freshman impact as any 
player in the country before his ankle surgery. Compared to Pierce in 
college, Joe Johnson was not only a better assist man but also a better 
3-point and FT shooter in college. No one knew how good Pierce would be as 
a perimeter shooter, dribbler or passer coming into his rookie year. 
Johnson shot something like 45% from downtown last year and played point 
forward in college. He's taller too.

There doesn't seem to be any question Joe Johnson can play if he stays 
healthy. Pierce is just doing his job as captain and franchise player in 
helping these rookies get ready to contribute as quickly as possible.

If Eric Williams starts all 82 games this year, I don't care how great his 
defense is that's not a very positive sign. You've got to have rebounding 
and ball movement through the small forward position, or else exceptional 
marksmanship, and he does none of these things. If Kedrick Brown can 
eventually catch up EW on the defensive end, then there is no reason EW 
should even be part of the 8-man rotation anymore.

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