Paul Pierce knows what Celtics are going through as they search for championship form
“I’m not surprised by what’s gone on."
When Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen united as hardwood super-friends with the 2007-08 Celtics, the three long-established stars knew there would need to be sacrifices toward that common goal of winning a championship.
It wasn’t necessarily easy for them to do, but they sure made it look that way – they won 29 of their first 32 games en route to collecting the franchise’s 17th championship banner that June.
Pierce, who has been keeping a close eye on the current Celtics from his perch as an increasingly candid studio analyst for ESPN’s NBA Countdown, said during a recent phone conversation that in a sense, the challenges his Celtics faced a decade ago were in some ways easier to navigate than what the current Celtics are dealing with now.
“These guys are still trying to establish their name in the league,’’ said Pierce, who will be part of ESPN’s Christmas Day coverage, which includes the Celtics’ matchup with the Sixers. “When we came together, we were all established. We knew we had to sacrifice, we knew we had to be different. We know we might get less touches, less minutes. We knew it. It’s much harder for a young player that hasn’t been established yet.
“Me, Ray, and Kevin, we knew there were going to be our nights that were our night, and we knew it might be a night when one of us was going crazy and needed the ball. We catered to that. We were like, ‘OK, Ray’s got it going, keep it going.’’ We were happy to see each other succeed.
“We already were proven. We were multiple All-Stars, all of that. These guys have that kind of ability to be that. But they’re in a place where you’re not going to see their full talent because of the veteran talent they already have on that team.’’
This year’s Celtics are 18-12 after Friday’s home loss to the Bucks, their third straight defeat after an eight-game winning streak. Following the loss to the Bucks, the Celtics held a team meeting, presumably to air some grievances regarding their inconsistent and sometimes selfish play.
“I’m not surprised by what’s gone on,’’ said Pierce. “With Kyrie [Irving] and Gordon {Hayward back], a lot of people’s roles have changed since the playoffs last summer, and that’s why they’ve struggled to be consistent. Terry Rozier got used to playing a certain way. Jaylen Brown got used to playing a certain way, getting a certain number of touches, getting those play calls. Same with Jayson Tatum.
“Now, guys are being put into a lot more reduced roles now that they have two All-Stars back. It’s an adjustment period. And it can be tough on a player when they felt comfortable in a role that benefited the team and helped them win and now they have to adapt to a new role for the better of the team. They want to win, but they want to establish themselves too. They’ve got contracts coming up. There’s a lot of things that they’re playing for. And some of that stuff can get in the way of the ultimate goal. That’s what I’m seeing.
I asked Pierce what he would have said if he were a player in that postgame meeting.
“We’ve got the ability to win and all the talent in the world to win a championship, but it can’t be on our individual terms,’’ he said, his voice rising. “We’ve got to be ready to sacrifice and doing what it takes to win it. If it’s not your night, it’s just not your night. Jayson, I know you’re capable of putting up 20. Jaylen, I know you’re capable of it. But that’s not always what this team is going to need. There are going to be certain nights you do shine, but it may not be every night because we have so much talent on this team. And you’re going to have to swallow that.’’
Pierce said that even though sometimes players can get hurt feeling in those meetings, it’s a much better option than letting issues fester and become bigger problems.
“Sometimes you just need to air it out,’’ he said. “Sometimes things need to be said that people don’t want to hear. But it may be the truth. It’s like that in any kind of relationship. If you’re married, sometimes you’ve got to have tough conversations. Guys got to be able to take it.’’
Pierce said that if the Celtics fulfill their promise on the court, the benefits will come for everyone on the roster – including the financial kind.
“That summer we won the championship, we lost James Posey. Teams wanted a championship-caliber player on their team. Other teams want a piece of that,’’ said Pierce. “We eventually lost Eddie House. Tony Allen went to Memphis, got paid. Kendrick Perkins eventually went to Oklahoma City, got paid. They didn’t get paid because they put up big numbers. They got paid because they were on a championship squad.’’
Pierce, who said he foresaw some of these issues coming in the preseason, said he has little doubt that the Celtics will figure it out.
“They had that eight-game winning streak where they were playing some of the best offense and defense in the league,’’ he said. “It’s there. The potential is there, and they have good guys on that team who care about winning. They just need to do it, commit to it, be more consistent with it.’’
