Pierce hasn't had a big game against LeBron/Cavs in years

[vegas_runnin_rebel]

Why do you guys think that is? Does the near impossible task of guarding LeBron take away from his energy on offense? Do you guys think that he is due for some monster games in this series?

Here are his split stats for the 07-08 season (4 games) against Cleveland:
13.5 PPG, 37.3 FG %, 3.5 RPG, 4.0 APG, 3.8 TO's, 1.5 SPG

06-07 stats against Cleveland in the only game he played in:
19 points, 28.6 FG %, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 TO's, 1 steal

05-06 split stats against Cleveland (3 games):
32.7 PPG, 41.3 FG %, 9 RPG, 4.7 APG, 3.7 TO's, 1 SPG
This was the season that he dropped a 50 point (17-36 FG, 16-20 FT's) 7 rebounds, 8 assist night on the Cavs. LeBron countered with 43 points.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore;_y ... 2006021502

[Rocky5000]

I think he takes it more upon himself to stop lebron this year.

In the past, he would try to stop him by getting into a shooter's duel with Lebron instead of actually playing any tough defense. If LeBron scored 40, Pierce would try to score 40 to offset him.

This year he realizes that he has teammates who are more than capable of scoring the basketball and that it is more important for him to slow down LeBron, than to score 30 points himself. He may still have 1 or 2 big games, if only because LeBron hasn't been that great at defending him. (Although maybe those numbers show he's getting better.)

For the Celtics, we have to gameplan to attack where we have the strongest mismatches. I think it's pretty obvious, that against the Cavs our biggest strengths are in the SG and PF spots, with PG being an honorable mention. For that reason I expect KG and Ray to dominate the scoring more than Paul, and for Pierce to try to be more of a distributor.

[vegas_runnin_rebel]

I agree with what you're saying...But I think that the more Pierce makes LeBron work defensively, the better off the Celtics will be at slowing LeBron down on offense. If Pierce defers too much to KG and Ray because they have better matchups, LeBron will get too much of a free pass defensively.

[Bigmiketruth]

*yawn*

let the game start already.

[jordan&james]

hey rocky5000, if u think pierce has a chance of slowing down lebron, your in for a long night.

[vegas_runnin_rebel]

hey rocky5000, if u think pierce has a chance of slowing down lebron, your in for a long night.

Pierce is the reason LeBron shot just 41% against the Celtics this year. LeBron may have put up a lot of points, but he's not efficient with Pierce on him.

[AWalkerREMIX]

hey rocky5000, if u think pierce has a chance of slowing down lebron, your in for a long night.

So is your English teacher.

[Al n' Perk No Layups!]

-= original quote snipped =-

So is your English teacher.

Awesome, man! E-five!

[Dogen]

-= original quote snipped =-

So is your English teacher.

That's better than a 23 cent pizza!

[Albanian Damien]

Pierce has been saving his energy for this series.

[spf211]

This just means Pierce is overdue...

But in reality, I think Pierce is caught up in the "rivalry" he started with LeBron when they had some great matchups in 2005-2006. Much the same way he got caught up when he said there was no player on the Nets that could stop him -- once opponents figure Pierce out, he often presses and tries too hard to reach back to his early success.

[GuyClinch]

I love pierce but I think Lebron has his number. In the NBA PP is either faster or stronger then almost everyone he is guarded by - cept for Lebron. I don't think he really knows how to deal with being physically outmatched like that.. It happens less often then people realize.

Pete

[Cyclical]

I love pierce but I think Lebron has his number. In the NBA PP is either faster or stronger then almost everyone he is guarded by - cept for Lebron. I don't think he really knows how to deal with being physically outmatched like that.. It happens less often then people realize.

Pete

Agreed 100% Pete. There was a thread about this a few months back where I wrote that PP is clearly intimidated every time he matches up against Lebron. Except for Bron's rookie year this has pretty much been the case. But hey, the man may eventually become the best SF of all time, and certainly the best player of his era. That's ok. PP has better players around him. If he focuses on the team game rather than a 1 on 1 matchup we should be fine. He can eat up Tayshawn in the next round.

[GuyClinch]

^^^ Agreed. My hope is that PP takes 8-10 wide open shots instead of trying to "match" Lebron. He needs to hold back and let his teamates pull the load on O I think.

I really like the West vs. Rondo matchup - that could pick up alot of the slack as Rondo has a clear physical advantage over West. Rondo is like our secret weapon in this matchup.

Pete

[LongTimeFan]

I thought Pierce had a monster defensive game against James last night. James went 2 for 18 last night or an 11% shooting percentage.

[GuyClinch]

Pierce plays decent defense on Lebron - physically he is one of the better matchups in the league. But I think Lebron was just off..

Pete

[MyInsatiableOne]

Pierce was absolutely dreadful last night in every facet except his defense. He couldn't even control his dribble. He's been pretty disappointing overall in these playoffs, but I expect him to bounce back in game 2.

[Red2]

I think Pierce psyches himself out against LeBron. LBJ may be the only other 2/3 in the league that Pierce can't body up and use his strength on . I agree that his defensive effort on lebron may be costing him some of his offense but in general he seems to press when we play the Cavs. I also think he has to be a lot smarter about his fouls. He has been in foul trouble the last 3 games and many of them have been stupid fouls- reaching fouls or charges. He needs to cut down on that. I don't expect Pierce to have a big series scoring wise . we can survive that if other guys step up and if Pierce plays strong D, rebounds and passes the ball. Ray Allen is another story. Ray should be feasting on this team. If he doesn't get it going and gets outplayed by wally then we're in trouble

[Man_Up]

I'm with Guy Clinch and Cyclical, but only concerning this season. Last season that game against the Cavs was when Pierce came back from the injury looking like Big Baby. This season Pierce has looked a bit rattled playing against Lebron. I think Lebron has gotten in Pierce's head.

Another possibility is that Pierce just hasn't gotten the go ahead from Doc to go at Lebron the same way Lebron goes at him. Pierce is seeing a lot less touches than last year and is being discouraged from doing the 1 on 1 thing. Pierce is a player that needs to get into rhythm this year he hasn't been give the opportunity.

[CelticsWhat!]

The last time Pierce had a shooting performance like that was on the road against the Suns when he shot 2-13. He followed that up with a 12-14 night and 30 points against the Blazers. Granted, they didn't have anyone like LeBron covering him, but it just shows that he doesn't let bad performances linger. He just brushes it aside and gets it going again. Let's hope he can do that tomorrow night.