Celtics fans can breathe a sigh of relief: the MRI on Paul Pierce’s foot came back negative, meaning no new injury for a team that has suffered nothing but all season long.
After Sunday’s 0-10 shooting performance against the Miami Heat, Pierce requested his left foot be examined, saying it had been bothering him for a while before getting worse before the game.
While a clean scan leaves Pierce with one less medical excuse for his bad night, it will allow him to play on Wednesday against the Nets, and during All-Star Weekend in the Three-Point Shootout and for Doc Rivers’ Eastern Conference All-Star team.
With Pierce currently in the middle of a fantastic year efficiency-wise, and with their bench already thinned by injuries, any missed time could have proved very costly for the team. The Celtics resorted to a 7-man rotation in the second half of Sunday’s game, with Nate Robinson and Avery Bradley receiving very limited minutes in the first half. Pierce’s primary backup, Marquis Daniels, is out for at least a month after bruising his spine in a game against Dallas.