SB Nation Boston - Paul Pierce Injury: Celtics Captain A Game-Time Decision Against Pistons

Celtics Vs. Pistons: C's Paul Pierce Will Start Friday For Boston

2011-12-30T23:27:45Z

BOSTON - Paul Pierce will see his first action of the 2011-12 season on Friday night, as Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers told Sean Grande of WEEI that the Celtics' captain will start against the Detroit Pistons in the home opener.

Pierce missed the majority of training camp with a bruised right heel suffered a few days before the start of camp. As a result, Pierce missed the team's two preseason games against the Toronto Raptors as well as the first three games of the season. On Christmas Day, Pierce was with the Celtics as they took on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Two days later, Pierce was a game-time decision against the Miami Heat before the Celtics decided to shut him down for the road trip finale against the New Orleans Hornets.

Pierce has averaged 22.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 13 seasons in Boston.

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Paul Pierce Injury: Pierce A Game-Time Decision Against Pistons

2011-12-30T17:40:57Z

Boston Celtics captain Paul Pierce is reportedly a game-time decision for Friday night's home opener against the Detroit Pistons at TD Garden, according to Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops. Pierce missed almost all of training camp and has not yet played this season for the Celtics as he continues to recover from a bruised right heel.

@sheridanhoops
Chris Sheridan Word from the #Celtics this morning is that Paul Pierce will be a game-time decision vs. #Pistons tonight.
Dec 30 via webFavorite RetweetReply

Pierce was a game-time decision prior to the team's season opener against the New York Knicks on Christmas Day and was also a game-time decision against the Miami Heat before the team decided to shut him down for the road trip. In the last four seasons, Pierce has played 71 or more games and has appeared in 80 or more games three times.

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Paul Pierce Injury Update: Celtics' Captain Doubtful Against Heat

2011-12-27T17:58:33Z

Paul Pierce is expected to miss his second straight game as he continues to recover from a bruised right-heel when the Boston Celtics face the Miami Heat in South beach on Tuesday night, according to head coach Doc Rivers.

"He worked out (Monday), went pretty well," said Rivers (via ESPN). "He didn't get as sore, so that's a good sign. He's not going to play tonight -- I doubt it, at least."

Pierce missed most of training camp and was on the bench for the Celtics' season-opening 106-104 loss to the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. Sasha Pavlovic started in Pierce's place and had zero points and one rebound in 15 minutes.

Rivers would not comment on Pierce's status for Wednesday night's road trip finale against the New Orleans Hornets, saying only that the C's captain is "day-to-day" right now.

As reported by ESPN's Chris Forsberg, Pierce was one of the first players out on the practice court during Tuesday's morning shootaround in Miami, taking shots at both ends of the court (and even dunking).

For more Boston Celtics coverage, visit our team page and blog, CelticsBlog.

Paul Pierce Injury: Celtics Captain 'Doubtful' For Season Opener

2011-12-23T19:46:29Z

Paul Pierce is doubtful for the Boston Celtics season opener against the New York Knicks on Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden, according to head coach Doc Rivers, who updated the media on Pierce's condition after Friday's practice.

Doc Rivers said he thinks its "doubtful" Paul Pierce will play Christmas Day vs. Knicks #celtics (via Gary Washburn, Boston Globe on Twitter)

Pierce missed the majority of training camp with what the team said was a bruised right heel. After Thursday's practice, Pierce was seen shooting three pointers and appeared to be moving around well.

Rivers hasn't yet indicated who will replace Pierce in the team's starting rotation, but all signs would seem to point to Marquis Daniels, who has had a good camp. Another option for the Celtics includes reserve Sasha Pavlovic.

Boston and New York tip off the NBA season at noon EDT on Christmas Day (TNT).

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No Paul Pierce? Big, Big Problem For Doc Rivers, Boston Celtics

2011-12-21T12:00:39Z

Paul Pierce is the centerpiece of the Boston Celtics, and there's really no arguing that point. Kevin Garnett may be the heart and soul of the defense and Ray Allen is the shooter with the rubber arm, but Pierce is the glue that holds everything together. Without Pierce, the Celtics just aren't as big of a threat.

Unfortunately, that's a scenario the coach Doc Rivers and the Celtics may be facing.

Pierce suffered from a bruised right heel during the team's training camp and has missed nearly all of camp, as well as the team's open scrimmage at TD Garden on Friday night and the preseason opener against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

"I'm concerned, not long-term, but I'm concerned short-term," said Rivers (via WEEI). "We have those two games right off the bat and he's gone one practice and that's basically it. So, yeah I'm concerned about it."

Pierce will not play in the Celtics' preseason finale and may be out until Friday. Pierce worked out really hard on Monday and was very sore afterwards, according to Rivers, and the C's captains status could be in jeopardy or the season opener.

No Pierce for one game certainly hurts, but what if it's more serious than we think?

As we've already established, Pierce is a very important member of this team. For the past decade, he's been the team's leading scorer and has a chance to finish his career with the most points in franchise history. Think about that -- this is a franchise that has had players like John Havlicek, Larry Bird, Bill Russell and so many more.

Even through the Celtics' resurgence to the top of the Eastern Conference and the league, Pierce has been at the forefront. In 2008, he was the MVP of the NBA Finals, and almost led the C's to another title two years later.

Without Pierce, the Celtics could easily slip to the middle of the pack in the East.

Make no mistake, the Celtics can still (and should easily) make the playoffs is Pierce was to miss a significant portion of time this season. However, upon reaching that point, there wouldn't be much hope for moving on. Think Boston can get past the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls or even the Atlanta Hawks or Orlando Magic without The Truth? Not likely.

Right now, it doesn't appear that the injury to Pierce is a serious one. However, the injury has seemed to drag out longer than expected, which does nothing but create concern. The last time the C's had an injury stretch out this long was Jeff Green, and he is missing the entire season with an aortic aneurysm.

For the record, I am in no way saying that Pierce's injury is even close to Green's, but teams do keep the real news about injuries under wraps for as long as possible. The longer this goes without a definitive end date, the more worrisome it becomes.

For now, it appears that Pierce will be out for a couple more days. If that's truly the case, then all should be well (until the next injury comes around). If it's not, the Celtics are in big, big trouble.

For more Boston Celtics coverage, visit our team page and blog, CelticsBlog.

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Celtics Vs. Raptors: Paul Pierce Out For Celtics Preseason Finale

2011-12-20T21:45:51Z

Paul Pierce will not play in the Boston Celtics' preseason finale against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday evening at TD Garden, according to head coach Doc Rivers who told reporters on Tuesday that he was concerned about Pierce's health.

"I'm concerned, not long-term, but I'm concerned short-term," Rivers told reporters (via WEEI). "We have those two games right off the bat and he's gone one practice and that's basically it. So, yeah I'm concerned about it."

Pierce has been suffering from a bruised right heel that has kept him out of the majority of training camp practices, the team's open scrimmage and the preseason opener against the Raptors on Sunday. Pierce is entering his 14th season in the NBA, all with the Celtics, and has scored 21,410 points and collected 5,847 rebounds and 3,661 assists in 964 career games.

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Paul Pierce Injury Update: Pierce's Status For Season Opener In Doubt

2011-12-20T20:35:44Z

Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce remains bothered by a troublesome heel and his status for the Celtics' Christmas Day season opener against the New York Knicks might be in doubt.

Pierce went through drills on Monday, but did not participate in the team's practice Tuesday after experiencing soreness.

"I'm concerned," Doc Rivers told reporters after the practice. "I'm not concerned long-term, but I'm concerned short-term."

Losing Pierce for any extended period of time would hurt the Celtics, whose depth at small forward is not a team strength since losing Jeff Green for the season. If Pierce misses any regular season games, Marquis Daniels would likely start in his place and Sasha Pavlovic would see an expanded role off of Boston's bench. Rivers said it's also a possibility for Daniels to remain with the second unit even if Pierce cannot suit up, because Daniels has fit so well with the bench during practices.

Pierce won't play in Boston's final preseason game on Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors. Rivers said the plan is for Pierce to practice on Friday in hopes of being available on Sunday when the Celtics open the season at Madison Square Garden.

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Boston Celtics Injury Report: Kevin Garnett Out With Thumb Injury

2011-12-17T03:01:40Z

BOSTON - The Boston Celtics are one week into training camp, and that can only mean one thing: injuries, injuries, injuries. Jeff Green has been the team's most concerning injury so far, suffering from a mystery ailment that has kept him out of practice since signing a one-year deal worth $9 million. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Sasha Pavlovic are also on the C's injury report as of Friday evening. Here's more on each player's injury.

Jeff Green: Green has been held out of every training camp practice after he failed the stress test portion of his physical, and the team has not yet learned what the mysterious setback is but should know by Saturday.

"Nothing," said Rivers when asked what he could tell the media about Green. "I will know for sure [Saturday]. I keep saying that, but I will. Danny [Ainge] called and said he'll announce it tomorrow, so we'll wait. Other than that, we just leave it at that."

Kevin Garnett: KG suffered a setback in practice on Thursday, injuring his thumb. Garnett was in attendance at the Celtics' open scrimmage on Friday night at TD Garden, but the Big Ticket sat on the bench for the entire game.

"He hurt his thumb yesterday in practice," Rivers said. "X-Rays were negative, which was good. We just didn't want to play with that. He'll play Sunday [against the Toronto Raptors]."

Paul Pierce: The Truth was the first player out on the court prior to Friday's scrimmage, but he was held out of the game and will not play in the team's preseason opener in Toronto on Sunday. Pierce is recovering from a bruised right heel that he suffered during training camp practice this past week. Rivers says he will practice again on Monday.

Rajon Rondo: It appears that Rondo has fully healed from a sprained right ankle suffered during practice this week that held him out of several practices, as Rondo played 20 minutes in Friday's scrimmage and finished with two points and seven assists. Rondo will likely play in the preseason game against Toronto over the weekend.

Sasha Pavlovic: The recently re-signed Pavlovic did not play in the Friday scrimmage as he continues to heal from a wrist injury suffered in the latter portion of the week. His status is unknown for Sunday's game.

"He's just got to wait and let it heal," Rivers said. "He'll be back soon, but I don't know if that means Sunday or not."

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