Feel Bad for Pierce

Living in the midst of NY/MA, I get to see alot of Celtics games on the NESN channel and a few in person. And having seen so many games, you can't help but feel bad for a guy like Paul Pierce.

Pierce is one of the rarities in the league today. He's stuck with the same team throughout his career. You don't hear him whining to be traded or pouting on the court. I haven't heard of too many incidents involving Pierce and management. He puts up great numbers for an individual, wills his team to victories, but suffers countless losses each season now. He basically has no talent surrounding him, ever. You'd have to really question the GM skills of Danny Ainge and wonder what he is trying to accomplish. He can't seriously think Pierce alone will win the Celts a title. The closest they ever were was back in the good ol' days of Walker and Pierce, one of the top dynamic duos in the NBA. Now it seems Pierce gets second-rate talent traded to his team. Guys like Sebastian Telfair, who is not a bad player, but isn't the best they could have. Tony Allen, not terrible, good enough for the NBA, but good enough to support Pierce? Their center is Michael Olowakandi, a former #1 draft pick, but definite bust. The Celtics also continue to draft young guns and point guards to develop. They had a shot at a higher draft pick and for some reason traded it away. The plan makes no sense to me. It makes you feel bad for such a superstar who puts in top notch performances night in and night out.

This is not to say the players on the Celtics suck, but alot are still in development, offensively and defensively. Ryan Gomes shows flashes of brilliance. Rajan Rondo and Delonte West both have skills and speed at the point. Al Jefferson could be a notch or two below the level of Dwight Howard. But last night's game was yet another example of how the talent was lacking. The Celtics had a 20 point lead heading into the 4th quarter, and Lebron and his gang managed to overcome the deficit and survive a last second Pierce buzzer-beater attempt to win by 1. Had the Celtics had the proper talent in place and gelling, the deficit would probably not have been overcome.