Doc on Pierce’s knee injury: He should not have been playing

Doc Rivers spoke to the media before the Celtics-Kings game yesterday and touched on a number of topics.  One was the status of Paul Pierce’s knee.

“He’ll be fine,” Doc said.  “With his injury, he had to rest it.  He should not have been playing, to be healthy.  The only way to be healthy is rest.  So, he’ll be fine.”

It’s just amazing to think at what kind of uphill battle the Celtics had to face against the Miami Heat.  The starting 2 guard (Bradley) was out after undergoing surgery.  His back up (Ray Allen) shouldn’t have been playing and had surgery.  The starting small forward (Pierce) shouldn’t have been playing due to a knee injury.  His back up (Pietrus) also shouldn’t have been playing and had surgery.

Add this to the list of why Paul Pierce is tough as nails.  His toughness is vastly under-appreciated, partly because of the ridiculous wheel chair thing in ’08.  And I say ridiculous because that’s all non-Celtics fans will bring up whenever he goes down now.

Let them joke, I say.  I know the truth… and I know The Truth.  I can only hope that his place in Celtics, and NBA, history is properly recognized in time.  He’s one of the toughest players ever to lace ’em up.