Via Gary Washburn in the Globe:
Boston, playing its third game in four nights, wore down in the second half, a byproduct of four 30-something players, including one – Paul Pierce – with a gimpy left knee. Pierce finished with 15 points on 4-for-10 shooting and it was obvious he was not completely healthy.
“I was able to make it through the game, but I obviously hurt us tonight,’’ he said. “Especially on the defensive end. I was a step slow pretty much all night and it really hurt us. I pretty much told the fellas, I really take a lot of the blame. Dahntay Jones goes out and has one of his best nights, with me guarding him most of the night. I am really going to take that one on the chin right there.’’
The Celtics are 8-3. The Pacers are 4-3. The Celtics have played a lot of games, and their schedule settles into a nice Wednesday-Friday-Sunday rhythm over the next couple of weeks. That’s the good news. The bad-ish news is that the C’s last six games in November are against two of the four fastest-playing teams in the league (Golden State and New York), one team that likes to run when it can (Philly), the top offensive team so far this season (Toronto) and an elite team that needs no introduction (Orlando).
So if the C’s have a problem with fast-paced teams—and there are small indications that they did last year—we’ll find out more in the next 10 days or so.
As for Pierce, he and the team have to remember that June matters, not November. If he needs or wants a game or two off, give it to him/force him to take it.
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