Paul Pierce did not play his best in the first round against the Miami Heat, averaging only 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists while hitting 46% of his shots.  In round two against the Cleveland Cavaliers he was even worse, putting up only 13.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, while shooting only 35% from the field.  Thanks to Rajon Rondo’s great overall play in the first two rounds, along with Ray Allen’s shooting, the Celtics were able to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against an Orlando Magic team that had not even been challenged yet in the playoffs.  Pierce and the Celtics knew coming into this series that it would take more than Rondo filling up the stat sheet for the Celtics to knock off the defending Eastern Conference Champions.  The Celtics needed Pierce to step up his play in this series, and so far so good.  In the first two games (both Boston wins), Pierce is averaging 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and is hitting 58% of his shots on a very efficient 14-24 shooting.  He is also doing a good job of drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line, where he has hit 17-21 (81%) in the two games.  Pierce and the Celtics have a commanding 2-0 lead in the series, but that doesn’t mean they can let up.  Dwight Howard the rest of the Magic are hungry to get back to the NBA Finals, so Pierce and company need to continue to play like they have in the first two games and finish off the Magic in as few games as possible.

In Rajon Rondo’s short career with the Boston Celtics so far, he seems to always step up when it matters most.  Rondo, who has to be considered one of the top point guards in the game, brings out his best game every postseason.  He was a key reason the Celtics won the 2008 NBA Championship, although the “Big 3″ get most of the credit.  Remember, however, that many doubted the Celtics could win a title with the then inexperienced Rondo running the point.  He shut his critics up then, and he has continued to do so since.  He already puts up some great numbers in the regular season, but in each of the last three year’s Rondo has significantly improved his numbers in the playoffs.  This year he is having a monster postseason, averaging 17.7 points, 11.0 assists, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 steals.  He is shooting 48% from the field and has added the three-pointer to his arsenal by hitting 43% (6/14) behind the arc.  During the regular season Rondo only averaged 13.7 points, 9.8 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.3 steals.  Rondo’s 29 points, 18 rebounds, 13 assists, ans 2 steals in game four against the Cavaliers was one of the best postseason performances by a point guard ever.  It helped the Celtics tie the series 2-2 and it gave them the momentum leading into their game five blowout win over the Cavs on Tuesday night.  Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen may still be the “Big 3″, but if the Celtics make it back to the NBA Finals this season Rondo deserves most of the credit.

Paul Pierce, who is the Boston Celtics’ leading scorer, returned to the lineup on Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons after missing a week due to a thumb injury.  Pierce looked a little rusty in their game against the Pistons and was not very aggressive on either end of the court.  He played 29 minutes and only had 9 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist.  Being back on the court was a great sign for the Celtics though, and Pierce bounced back very nicely last night.  He looked like his old self in the Celtics’ win over the Bobcats, and came out much more aggressively.  In only 27 minutes he lit it up for 27 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block en route to a Celtics 104-80 blowout win.  If this is a sign of things to come for the Pierce and the Celtics down the stretch, then they may get themselves back to the team that started the season 23-5.  Injuries and age looked like they were really starting to catch up with the Celtics, as they even lost to the 6-54 New Jersey Nets recently.  However, if they have a healthy and determined Paul Pierce back, it could change the whole dimension of their team.  Hopefully for the Celtics’ sake, last game was not a fluke for Pierce and he can get this Celtics team back on track.

Paul Pierce is listed as “day to day” but the All-Star small forward is considering taking some extended time off to heal up.  Pierce injured his thumb pretty badly against the Lakers last Thursday, but continued to play through it.  It was obvious Pierce was not healthy, with his shot struggling and his minutes drastically cut.  Pierce is also suffering from the flu and didn’t even come to the arena in the Celtics 110-106 win over the Knicks last night.  This could be a huge hit to the Celtics, who seem to be cursed with the injury bug this season.  Kevin Garnett has also missed an extended period of games this season and still does not look 100% with his weak knee.  Pierce is the Celtics’ go-to-guy and arguably their best player though.  He is averaging 17.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals, and 35.3 minutes per game.  Pierce has been shooting the ball great this season too, hitting 44% of his threes and 46% overall.  More and more signs are pointing to this Celtics dynasty coming to an end, as Rajon Rondo is the only player who is young and/or healthy out of the Celtics’ top players (Pierce, Garnett, Rondo, and Allen).

Paul Pierce, who has missed some games recently with a sprained foot, says his injury is not as bad as initially reported and that he is fine.  Pierce plans to play tonight against the New Orleans Hornets and says that he wants to participate in the All-Star game.  Pierce is also scheduled to be a part of the All-Star 3-Point Contest.  The Celtics really need Pierce to stay healthy, as he is their leading and most consistent scorer, and their best all-around player.  He is also lighting it up from outside, which is the reason why he was selected to participate in the 3-Point Contest.  This season he has played in 42 games (all starts) and is averaging 18.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 35.6 minutes.  He is shooting 47% from the field and 46% from three.  The Celtics’ staff pulled him out of practice on Monday since he was apparently hobbling around.  Pierce should not be worrying about the All-Star festivities and should put getting healthy a main priority.  The Celtics are hurting right now with Kevin Garnett not playing like his old self due to knee problems, so Pierce is that much more important to the Celtics.  In my opinion I think Pierce should sit out of at least the All-Star game itself, and maybe participate in just the 3-point Contest.  Without Paul Pierce the Celtics season would be pretty much over.