Pierce took Zero Time Off

[Rocky5000]

"That's the Paul Pierce we've seen in camp from Day 1. Kevin Garnett is still our energy guy, but Paul now has become that as well. I can't count the times Paul has reminded the team in practice to pick up their play, to go harder to play harder. It's amazing. Winning has kind of turned him on even more so. He wants more."

And Pierce's summer of fun? How long did it actually last?

"I started working out immediately, actually," Pierce said. "When people thought I wasn't going to be in the gym, I was going to be in the gym.

"I go at all type of hours, whether it's 1 in the morning or 6 in the morning. When people think I'm out hanging out, I'm in the gym."

That ripping sound you hear is Pierce tearing out a page of Larry Bird's post-NBA title handbook.

"I knew it was going to be harder," Pierce said. "If you come in better shape, you're a better player. Once you taste the success as a champion, you don't want that to go away."

And if Pierce has his way, the less there is of him, the more he and the Celtics can hang on to that championship feeling.

http://www.nba.com/2008/news/features/r ... index.html

Everyone was concerned that he was going to be spending too much time partying, but apparently he was able to party and then work out in between. He claims to be down to down to 220, 15 lbs. below his listed weight. For years, we've been discussing how Pierce needs to lose some weight, and now in the shortest summer of his career, he's done it. The championship has made him more committed than ever.

[campybatman]

My feeling, perhaps Pierce would concur, is that the Celtics need to at least win another championship with the current star players. Because their window of opportunities isn't wide.

I mean I think of San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago, Houston and Detroit as teams in recent decades who were able to succeed with their primary players (the core) to win multiple or consecutive championships.

To win one title is nice but to win as many as you can when you've a chance to is most important. And when you have a Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Your expectations as a Celtics fan should be to desire more. One NBA title simply won't suffice, in my opinion.

Where will the reigning World Champion Boston Celtics be in two summers? Should Paul Pierce leave $21.5 million on the table (taking advantage of an early termination option - ETO), he would join Ray Allen as a free agent. Boston would have below $25 million in salaries although Rajon Rondo may have an extension locked in before then. Even if Pierce chose not to opt out, the Celtics could still have enough to pursue a younger replacement for Allen (perhaps the return of Joe Johnson?).

It's difficult to tell this early what Boston's long-term plan is to try and build a dynasty. It may never include cap room, but it's certainly a possibility.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9820

[GregB]

The way I look at it, If Pierce opts out its because he wants to help us free up money in FA. If we let Ray, Scal, and Eddie House Expire, We could have a lot of money in '10. Joe Johnson would look really good next to Paul Pierce. I think he could add a year or two to our current title chances and be a centerpiece going forward with Rondo.

Will be interested to see if Joe resigns an extension with Atlanta.

[campybatman]

I wonder how Joe Johnson took to reading or being told about Pierce's comment about believing Ray deserved an All-Star nod instead of him. But, that comment was more to do with Atlanta's place in the standings then with Johnson's statistics at that point, I think. Also, Johnson disliked his "role player" status of being the fourth option in Phoenix behind Nash, Stoudemire and Marion. How would he take to being mentioned only after Pierce and Garnett? Not to mention, Boston traded him as a rookie. I think Johnson is thriving with Atlanta because he's the "man" in some regard along with Josh Smith. In Boston, he'll take a backseat, again. I'm skeptical whether or not Johnson could sacrifice his scoring in favor of Pierce and make other sacrifices in his overall game like Ray Allen. He's still a young player (27) where Allen is a veteran and the consummate professional.

Pierce has matured a lot. He realized he can be a good complementary player and still step up when needed. He played that role very well. He took the brunt of the bad times in Boston, which is why you've got to hand it to him for letting Garnett step up to the forefront -- and yet Pierce still played hard. No doubt it helped that Garnett let him be the main scorer. Pierce still plays the same style of game as always, with his driving and three-point shooting. But he bought into the defensive focus that was brought on by Garnett, and that was a surprise. I've got more respect for him now because he showed he was in it to win.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/b ... 2/celtics/

Who is their lead player? Joe Johnson tends to not take the last shot as much as you'd expect from a franchise player. You can tell a lot about him from his decision to go to a losing team by leaving a team that could've paid him good money and helped him win a championship. He hasn't done much in recent years to change that opinion. I've watched them play a lot, and he's a talented kid. But I'm not a fan. He's a good third player on a contending team. But he's not the guy you build around.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/b ... /22/hawks/

[s1ickd]

I can't see Paul leaving Boston for any other team besides the Clippers.

At this point, after over 10 max contract seasons and advertising revenue, he's set for the rest of his life... and his kids are set for the rest of theirs. He likes the organization and wants to go down as one of the Celtics' greatest.

If he does leave, it'll be because of a ridiculous lowball offer, which I don't think will happe. He'd probably opt to go to the Clippers to finish out his last couple years of his career, because it's close to his mom.


I don't think he's interested in getting acclimated to another city like Philly, Detroit, Miluakee, Pheonix... etc... just because its just unnecessary. He's a local celebrity and part of Boston's culture.

[3pt %]

I dunno about the Johson comments, he gave us everything we could handle in the first round and hit some clutch shots.

[Rocky5000]

I think we will probably keep Ray around until he retires, none of the big 3 will be allowed to 'walk' at the end of their contracts.

[campybatman]

As far as Ray Allen's future is concern, I believe Tony Allen's continual progression into a better player could affect this. If you've Tony, then you've Ray. Because you can't put much stock in Giddens right now. But, Tony gives you another solid shooting guard on the roster who's younger (and hopefully healthy) to allow for Ray to rest and reduce his minutes. Not to mention, you could alternative between he and Ray as your starter as Ray gets older as well.

Celtics ownership are fans of Pierce and would like for him to retire a Celtic player. So, I would think they'll try hard to make sure he would want to finish he career with Boston. I don't see any reason why Garnett would want to play for another team at this point in his career. I mean his good friends Paul and Ray are here and he really appreciates and understands the history and tradition of the Boston Celtics. Getting to know Bill Russell helped as well. The only team I could see him with is Minnesota, if he'd decided to return.

[AlCelticFan]

Paul Pierce is training like Rocky in Rocky 4. Gotta love that!

Tony Allen's continual progression into a better player could affect this

True. But the continual growth thing is so far a mere myth... We'll see. I'd be delighted for Tony to become truly consistent this season.