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.

Rajon Rondo has been getting a lot of credit ever since the Boston Celtics won the 2008 NBA Championship.  A lot of it was deserved, with Rondo putting up some great stat lines as the starting point guard for an NBA championship team, along with his continued improvement since 2008.  The only problem I have is that Rondo has been doing this with three future Hall-of-Famers in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen.  Now with Paul Pierce not at 100% and missing some games recently, an ailing KG, and an aging Allen, will Rondo continue to put up his near triple-double stat lines?  I’m not so sure he will, and I’m also not so sure that is what the Celtics need out of him.  Without Pierce and KG scoring like they used to, Rondo needs to put some more points on the board.  He is young and healthy, and the Celtics really need a boost when it comes to scoring, especially without Pierce.  Rondo is averaging a career-high 14.4 points this season, but in his last 5 games he is averaging 18.8 points.   He deserves a lot of credit for this, as he still has been dishing the ball well.  He has even been extending his shooting range a bit, going 2-3 from three against Miami last Wednesday and 2-2 last night against Orlando.  The Celtics need him to continue to score like this until Pierce and KG get back to their old form (if they can).  If Rondo can not continue to score at this pace, the Celtics may be in big trouble.

The Boston Celtics’ star power forward Kevin Garnett has not been himself this season due to a problematic knee.  He has missed 16 games because of his ailing knee and returned to play on January 22nd.  Garnett has not looked himself since his return and the Celtics’ recent struggles has a lot to do with an unhealthy Garnett.  Since his return, Garnett has played in six games and is averaging 13.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 32 minutes per game.  Garnett has a very good mid-range jumper, so he is still shooting at a very good percentage during those games (53%), but he has been very gingerly on that knee and is obviously hobbled by it.  He has not been aggressively taking it to the rack and is relying too heavily on that jumper.  His knee has limited most on the defensive end of the court.  Once the key part of a great Celtics’ defense, Garnett is almost a liability on defense now.  He doesn’t have the strength, quickness, and lift that we have grown accustomed to seeing from KG and if his knee does not get better soon the Celtics are not going to get far in the Eastern Conference playoffs.  Many believe the Celtics should sit Garnett out for a couple of weeks and let his knee heal.  I think they should keep Garnett in the lineup, as KG at 80% can still contribute.  Playing can also actually help strengthen his knee as long as he is not risking further injury.  They should definitely limit his minutes though since they don’t want KG to break down before or when the playoffs start.  Around 20-25 minutes per game would be better than the 30-35 minutes they are playing him now.