Anybody think Pierce was favoring his leg last night?

[Kestas]

Went to the game (thanks to Kim!), and was hoping that my presence would 
inspire Danny's Lost Boyz to snap the losing streak. (Well, perhaps 
Pierce's  return would have something to do with it as well) :)
 Alas, neither proved sufficient to wake up the troops. To the contrary, 
I'd say they looked as dispirited as ever. There has been a notable 
regression in that regard since the Spurs game, in which they still 
seemed to believe they can win. There now seems to be  more and more 
one-on-one stuff going on, and none of these guys is good enough for 
that. Even Delonte seems to be going mainly  for his points, not giving 
up the ball even on fast breaks, something that stuck in my mind Friday 
night.

Then again, when they did try to pass the ball, it was stupid decisions 
galore, including by the point guards. Rondo just didn't look good in 
his decision-making and his shot is completely MIA. In general, there 
was such a stark contrast between our three point guards and what Kidd 
was doing. Newsflash, I know. However, such side-by-side comparisons 
just highlight how far our young PGs have to go to even be considerate 
adequate NBA PGs.

Getting to your question, I didn't notice that Pierce was favoring his 
leg. He just seemed to be what he later admitted he was - out of game 
shape, heavy legs, back-rimming or short-arming most shots. Not 
surprising given his circumstances. 
Should he have practiced a few more times before getting into a game? 
Perhaps, but there's nothing like playing in a real game to get you back 
into game shape ASAP. And it's becoming clear that we won't win until 
Pierce is substantially back.
Was it dangerous for his foot? Maybe, but that's up to him and his 
orthopedists to determine. He was grabbing his elbow, though,  after 
trying to get his shot off under the basket and getting stuffed/fouled.

Hmm, I wonder if  Blount  and RickyD  will be motivated tonight...
Kestas


Ryan W wrote:

>Hey list, 
>
>I was wondering if anybody else thought was Pierce
>favoring his leg last night?  I thought I could see a
>noticeable difference in how he was moving, especially
>in the bad foot.  
>
>I also thought Doc played him too much, especially in
>his first stint at the end of the first quarter.  He
>was clearly laboring out there, and the team was
>looking for him like it was the end of a close game
>and we needed that last shot (and to invariably lose
>because that kind of basketball is so easy to defend).
> It was pretty wierd.  
>
>And, though I know that this was a Pierce-instituted
>appearance, and another example of his great
>toughness, leadership, and desire to do anything to
>help the C's, I really question whether he should have
>been playing.  Why bring someone back who's playing
>with a minute limitation and who's only had one
>practice in the last 7 weeks?  It seemed pretty
>reckless to me, especially he had to guard Vince
>Carter as soon as he got into the game.  After such a
>long layoff, I would think he's more susceptible to
>muscle tears or strains, either from inactivity or
>overcompensation for his foot/elbow.  Just a very
>questionable move from the C's perspective  (but if I
>were Pierce, I would have done the same thing, because
>the man is a warrior and paid to play basketball and
>it must be absolutely awful to watch as your team
>loses 16 in a row and you can't do anything about
>it...that said, the front office should have stepped
>in and blocked it, at least till he gets a few more
>practices in).
>
>Ryan  
>
>
> 
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