1 potato, 2 potato, 3 potato, four...

[Patrick.Ryan at westover.af.mil]

I don't either and not because of Pierce's level of talent.  Statistics
rule the "1st team, 2nd team" selections at the end of the year
(preseason polls of any type count for exactly zero).  Given the roles
and personnel on the Celtics in what statistics would Pierce rise above
the rest of the NBA? Scoring? Possible, but as we saw in the preseason
night to night different guys bore the scoring load. Rebounding? Now
with Garnett I really think Pierce's rebounding numbers will drop
tremendously.  Assists? They could rise, but to the level of Steve Nash
- no way.

 

With some rare defensive exceptions (Ben Wallace in his Piston days for
example), the "All-NBA 1st Team" is dominated by guys who dominate
scoring and rebounding at the forward positions and scoring and assists
at the guard positions.  There are exceptions.  There is some limited
"popularity" bumps as well as the dreaded" how far did their team go"
bias, but overall it's a pure numbers game and I don't see Pierce
sniffing the numbers necessary to crack that lineup.

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pierce first team all-star? i don't see it. - Steve