Paul Pierce doesn’t want to pressure Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown by reaching out often
"A lot comes with being a Boston Celtic."
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Paul Pierce sees how much weight rests on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Entering this season after a run to the Eastern Conference finals in the bubble, the Boston Celtics were expected to resemble a contender. With Gordon Hayward gone and Kemba Walker returning from an injury, those expectations fell directly onto the team’s two young stars.
“I just feel like there’s so much pressure on Tatum and Brown to perform each and every night for them to even have a chance,” Pierce said on Wednesday. “[There’s] not much depth off the bench. Smart, him coming back, but it’s not many guys you can rely on outside of those two or three guys.”
Pierce, who spoke to Boston.com as part of the Celtics’ new partnership with Bushmills Whiskey, watches the Celtics often.
“Me and old KG,” Pierce said, smiling. “We like to sit back and watch the games and stuff.”
Watching the Celtics, of course, sometimes calls for whiskey this year — look no further than Wednesday’s 117-110 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Weighty expectations in tow, the Celtics are now 20-20, and Pierce believes the bench is a major part of the problem.
“Right now, they’re a team that is just missing something,” Pierce said. “Yeah, they have two All-Stars, I think they have great coaching, I think they have good leadership, they just don’t have the depth, I believe. I think they need another player that’s consistent, one you can count on each and every night that’s going to bring you something to the table.”
Pierce said he sees both Daniel Theis and Tristan Thompson as bench contributors more than starters. He also believes the Celtics could use a starter at the four who can guard pick-and-rolls and space the floor. Pierce might not be alone in that belief — with the trade deadline looming, rumors have tied the Celtics to players like John Collins and Harrison Barnes.
Pierce called Tatum “a superstar in the making” in 2018 and said Celtics fans could compare him to Tatum “any time you want.” In 2019, he was court-side when Tatum hit a big shot down the stretch against the Milwaukee Bucks. An ecstatic Pierce put his hands in the air, then leaned way out over the court to high-five Tatum as he ran by.
Pierce remembers being surprised seeing photos of the event later.
“I’m a fan at the end of the day,” he said. “I played there, and I cheered him on. So when I’m siting on the sideline and I see some big plays, I just had an out-of-body moment where I jumped on the court. I looked at the picture, and I was like, ‘Man, I was all the way on the court during the game.’”
As Tatum and Brown have tried to navigate the Celtics’ struggles this season, Pierce has mostly tried to stay out of the way. The weight of the Celtics’ franchise is considerable, and he doesn’t want to add to it by offering unsolicited advice.
“I never want to put pressure on these guys to live up to what past Celtics have done,” Pierce said. “Most of the time, when I see these guys is when I come in town, and it was like that with me and former players. I talked to Bill Russell from time to time but most of the time, when we had our conversations and we linked up and had dinners when he was in town and we could just kind of share a moment together. But they know that I’m watching from afar. I’m constantly commenting on them, and they all have my phone numbers too, so if they ever want to reach out and talk about anything, I’m always open lines.
“But you don’t want to be up on that player giving your opinion, because I’ll have an opinion every night. I would never want to put that pressure — and I couldn’t even imagine how I would feel if Bill Russell called me after every game, I’d probably feel an immense amount of pressure. Like, ‘Man, I’m trying to live up to the Celtics greats of the past.’ And that’s why I like to have a casual relationship with these guys so they don’t feel that pressure, because a lot comes with being a Boston Celtic.”
Pierce experienced that weight and embraced it. As a result, he became one of the pillars in a storied franchise’s history.
“I’ll always bleed green and I’ll always be a Celtic,” he said. “I get excited for this new generation of players.”
Like any player from a previous era, he sees ways he could have thrived in today’s game. Unlike some of the other stars, however, he also recognizes the talent of the new generation.
“I probably would have averaged 20 free throws a game, when the offense has the advantage,” he said. “But these players, they’re gifted, and the skill level is probably higher than ever. They adjust with the times. It’s definitely a different brand of basketball, but it’s exciting to watch.”
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