Deveney on Pierce v. Milwaukee

["hironaka@xxxxxxxxx"<hironaka@xxxxxxxxx>]

Pierce isn't likely to go down without putting up a 
fight tomorrow night. Here's what Sean Deveney just wrote 
in TSN, in a flattering piece about a subpar game.

p.s. I remember a few years back late in the season when 
Milwaukee had two of their "big three" out, and they 
still handed our ass back to us on a dixie plate. I'm 
sure most fans have long forgotten about that game, but 
maybe we can get a bit of revenge tomorrow.


PIERCE KNOWS HOW TO TAKE A LICKING 
By Sean Deveney - Sporting News

It's the first quarter of a game in Milwaukee, and 
Celtics shooting guard Paul Pierce is lowering his 
shoulder into Bucks center Ervin Johnson under the 
basket, positioning for a rebound. As the ball caroms 
toward the two, Pierce reaches around Johnson and 
clutches the ball. Johnson does the same. Johnson has 
five inches and 25 pounds on Pierce, but Pierce is not 
letting go, and the two fall hard to the floor, a 
tumbleweed of muscle, determination and high-tops. 

Fast forward a few minutes, and Pierce has the ball 
beyond the 3-point line, guarded by Ray Allen. With a 
stutter-step move, Pierce leaves Allen behind and drives 
to the basket, where another Bucks center, Jason Caffey, 
has been keeping his eye on Pierce. As Pierce enters the 
paint, Caffey welcomes him with a two-handed shot to the 
gut. Pierce hits the floor, then hits the free throws. 

In all, it would go on to be a tough night for Pierce. He 
shot 6-for-22, committed three turnovers, was whistled 
for five fouls, hit the floor six times and faced seven 
defenders -- ranging from 6-3, 185-pound point guard Sam 
Cassell to 6-8, 265-pound behemoth Anthony Mason. And 
this was against the Bucks, a team not known for its 
defensive fortitude. 

"If you're going to beat them, you have to be physical 
with (Pierce)," says one of the many Bucks who covered 
Pierce, forward Tim Thomas. "You have to knock him out of 
his game." 

Pierce is familiar with the knocking. This year, more 
than any other, he has dealt with an array of defenses 
designed to ensure he takes as many blows as possible. No 
player has gone to the free-throw line more -- Pierce is 
on pace to take 776 freebies, the most of his career. He 
is too good with the ball for opponents to prevent his 
penetration altogether, but teams are trying to inflict 
pain when Pierce comes into the paint. 

"No question, they are being more physical," he says with 
a laugh. "I've got the bruises to prove it. I have gotten 
a reputation as one of the better scorers in the league, 
and I go to the bucket. Teams are trying not let me get 
to the hoop, and the best way to do that is hard fouls. 
I've been getting a lot of those, getting knocked to the 
ground." 

Because the Celtics are thin at center and don't have a 
real point guard, Pierce, along with power forward 
Antoine Walker, must pick up the slack in other areas. 
Pierce leads the team in points and is second in rebounds 
and assists. Factor in his natural inclination to hunt 
loose balls with abandon and battle big men on the 
boards, and this has been the most physically draining 
season of his five-year career. 

That has at least two effects. Celtics coach Jim O'Brien 
is quick to point out that, even though Pierce goes to 
the line a lot, there are a lot of calls he does not get. 
Referees are reluctant to repeatedly send Pierce to the 
line, so Pierce often must shoot while being hacked. That 
helps explain why his field-goal shooting is at a career-
low 39.1 percent, 5.5 percent below his career average 
before this season. 

He has also looked tired, and that has to be a concern 
for the Celtics over the course of the season and into 
the playoffs. Pierce had a hectic offseason, playing in 
the World Championship in Indianapolis and taking on the 
emotional drain of testifying at the trial of the men who 
attacked and stabbed him at a Boston night club in 
September 2000. Still, Pierce has started every game and 
is one of just 13 players averaging 40 minutes. It has 
been three years since a hamstring injury kept Pierce out 
of a game, a span of 244 straight starts, at the 
beginning of this week. 

That's fortunate because, even as solid as Walker has 
been, the Celtics now rely on Pierce as much as any team 
relies on one player. Pierce is criticized for shooting 
too much, but that's ridiculous. He has no choice. 
Against the Bucks, he was in the starting lineup with 
Walker and three bench guys -- undrafted rookie J.R. 
Bremer, second-year man Kedrick Brown and the Celtics' 
dud offseason acquisition, Vin Baker. Though his shot was 
not falling, Pierce had to keep shooting -- because who 
else would? Pierce must shoot his way through bad games, 
and that doesn't help his percentage. 

"Teams are out there doing everything that is allowed in 
the rules -- zone, box-and-one, all kinds of junk 
defense," says teammate Eric Williams. "A lot of stuff 
that is not in the rules even, if you know what I mean. 
But great scorers are going to score, and if this team is 
going to win, he has got to put up shots." 

As time was winding down in the game against Milwaukee, 
the Bucks had clawed back from a 16-point deficit to 
trail by two with less than a minute to play. The Celtics 
had the ball and an opportunity to seal the game. Pierce 
managed to get open for a 16-foot jumper and, despite 
being a horrendous 5-for-21 to that point, took the 
jumper and rattled it in. 

"What did I miss, about 10 or 15 shots in a row?" Pierce 
says. "Well, if it is there, I still have to take it. 
It's my job to take it." 

Sean Deveney is a staff writer for the Sporting News. 
Email him at sdeveney@sportingnews.com. 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?
slug=pierceknowshowtotakealic&prov=tsn&type=lgns


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