ESPN's Ric Bucher sets his sights on the Truth in his Offseason Buzz:
He has — or should have — the most tread left of the Big Three, but
he had their same worn-down look in the playoffs, simply unable to
summon the necessary energy every game to get the job done. Granted, he
played a staggering 44 minutes a game to get the Celtics past the
Bulls, and Rondo's role will continue to expand, but at 31 with barely
more than 30,000 minutes played, Pierce should've had more in the tank.
Could it be that one ring was validation enough, that the hunger which
drove him two seasons ago was a greater missing element than KG?
he had their same worn-down look in the playoffs, simply unable to
summon the necessary energy every game to get the job done. Granted, he
played a staggering 44 minutes a game to get the Celtics past the
Bulls, and Rondo's role will continue to expand, but at 31 with barely
more than 30,000 minutes played, Pierce should've had more in the tank.
Could it be that one ring was validation enough, that the hunger which
drove him two seasons ago was a greater missing element than KG?
To be fair, we all wondered what was "wrong" with Pierce during the Bulls series.
But rather than question his heart, we assumed injury was behind the lackluster play. (Is 23 points and 7 board per game really lackluster?)
After the season, Doc Rivers admitted Pierce was dealing with some bone spurs. Too bad Ric Bucher missed that bit of news.
Put Kobe Bryant in a similar situation and the media would have given him a medal of honor for playing 44 mpg with bone spurs without his right-hand man.
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