Can C’s Win with a Subpar Pierce?

Posted by Mike Giardi June 7, 2008 at 9:06 pm

Okay, so Paul Pierce says he’ll play in tomorrow’s Game 2. Surprised? As Pierce said in the aftermath of Thursday night’s win, and I’m paraphrasing, “there are only two weeks left. We’ll deal with the knee when the season is over.” That’s exactly what you would expect from a star player playing in his first NBA Finals. Its also what you’d expect from a player just three wins away from his first NBA title, and the first for this storied franchise in 21 years. But what can Pierce provide?

The C’s captain says the swelling in his right knee subsiding, but - as of this afternoon - he couldn’t bend it completely. Give Pierce 24 hours or more for treatment and the hope is that he’ll be a reasonable facsimile of himself Sunday. Let’s face it, the C’s need that. They need Pierce to be a force at both ends. And yes, he may be just as important defensively as he is offensively. The work he did on Kobe, especially in the 4th Quarter (after the injury), was impressive. Goes to show you just how much PP has bought into this defense wins championship thing (where have I heard that before?).

If Pierce’s mobility is severely compromised, that’s one less body to run at the Lakers star. That will make a difference, without question. Kobe’s too good for it not to. Plus, you just don’t expect another 9-for-26 from Michael Jordan’s possible heir, do you? I know I sure as heck don’t.

At the other end, you saw what Pierce did to Vladimir Radmonovic. I mean, that guy may be long, as the ESPN hoop heads love to say, but he was also out of his league Thursday. 5 fouls in 17 minutes. We spent all this time wondering how the C’s would cover Kobe, but how do the Lakers deal with Pierce? Again, the task becomes easier if a vital part of the “Big 3″ isn’t quite right. But I’m done wondering. You and I and the rest of the basketball watching world will see tomorrow and then, and only then, will we know just what kind of impact the injury has on Pierce and on this series.