Pierce: Celtics aren't tough enough
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Wednesday, December 3
Updated: December 3
12:35 PM ET
If Boston Celtics swingman Paul Pierce has said it once, he's said it a million times.
"Every time we lose games, it's not because of our effort, it's because we lose leads," Pierce told the Boston Globe. "The team understands what it has to do. It's got to come from each and every individual. My whole point is that everything doesn't start with me. Everything doesn't go through me. At the same time, every individual player has the responsibility to make this a better team and turn things around."
He had more to say after his team was outscored 25-19 in the fourth quarter by the Memphis Grizzlies Monday night and lost by seven points.
"We are going to have to become a more mentally tough team," said Pierce. "Right now we're not where we should be. We haven't reached our potential."
Maybe he was still mad about being outscored 45-34 by the Sixers in the second half of a game they ended up losing by two. Or perhaps it was the game in which they were outscored 51-32 in the second half and lost to the Knicks by three.
Paul Pierce
Shooting Guard
Boston Celtics
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
17 22.3 7.1 5.5 .405 .846
"There's a lot of things people can do to help this team win," Pierce told the Boston Herald. "Of course you'll be frustrated with losing, but we know what we have in this room. That's the frustrating part -- we can win these games."
A closer look at the stats backs him up. The Celtics were 12-5 at this point last year, having gone 4-2 in games decided by seven or fewer points, including two overtime wins in which they outscored the Hawks 26-16 in the fourth quarter and outscored the Lakers 31-24 down the stretch.
But this year's team has a record of 3-8 in games decided by seven or fewer points. In fact, the Celtics have never lost by more than eight but have a record of 7-10.
And what's making Pierce so mad is not the fact that they are losing, but how they're losing.
Last year's team shot 41.5 percent from the field. This year's team shoots 42.8 percent. Last year's team was outrebounded by 4.2 on average, while this year's team is outrebounded by only 1.6. This year's team may shoot worse from long range and have more turnovers, but it also shoots better from the free-throw line and holds opponents to 3.9 fewer points per game.
The statistics are almost a wash. But that isn't what Pierce is talking about. He's talking about bouncing back after losses. He's talking about playing tougher as the game wears on. He's talking about, well, mental toughness.
"But this isn't the first time I've talked about these things," Pierce said. "This is something we already know -- something we've talked about for the last couple of weeks."
When last season's team was blown out 114-69 by the Wizards on Oct. 31, it won the following game against the Knicks to start a six-game winning streak. When that streak ended with back-to-back losses, Boston rebounded to win its next four.
This year's team has never won more than two games in a row and already owns losing streaks of three and four games.
"He's our captain," head coach Jim O'Brien told the Boston Globe. "He's welcome to express his views. If that's what he feels, I'm sure he talked to the team about it. That's fine. That's why he's the captain. I think that he takes a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. He should say what he has to say."
But O'Brien is a bit more diplomatic about it.
"When I think of mental toughness, I think of guts, and we have plenty of guts," said the coach. "We're disappointed as a group that we haven't finished off our opportunities. When we give the attention to our defensive responsibilities, I think things will turn around. We need to pay attention to details. I still have a lot of faith in this basketball team."
Nets losing confidence?
Alonzo Mourning has retired, but the New Jersey Nets, with veterans like Jason Kidd, Kerry Kittles and Lucious Harris, are just as confident as ever that they're the team to beat in the Eastern Conference ... right?
"I don't know," team president Rod Thorn told the New York Post. "And I say that because some of these teams in the East are better. Indiana's better. Detroit is better. New Orleans is better. And it's too early. We haven't played enough good games for me to say we're going to be in that caliber. ... But I don't know right now. I really don't."
Kerry?
"I'm always concerned when we lose three games in a row, especially when we're not playing the style we're capable of playing against teams we should beat," Kittles said after the Nets lost to the Blazers, Kings and Jazz with a game tonight against the Grizzlies.
Lucious?
"That's real damaging to a team. It's a roller-coaster all the time. You want an even keel but it's not," said Harris. "We're coming out flat in the first couple quarter and it's killing us."
Sure, they have a 7-10 record, were down to the Kings 60-28 by halftime and were outrebounded by the Jazz, 51-25. But these are the Nets, right? The two-time defending Eastern Conference champs, right?
Certainly head coach Byron Scott, in the final year of his contract and looking for an extension thinks so, doesn't he?
"It's something we have to figure out because rebounding doesn't have a lot to do with skills, it has to do with your will against his will," Scott said.
Brand to the rescue?
The Los Angeles Clippers aren't exactly sure when Elton Brand will be cleared to play, but now that doctors have cleared him for full-contact practices, they aren't waiting around to get him back into the grind.
Brand"Getting elbows in the face -- I've missed that," Brand told the L.A. Daily News after teammate Melvin Ely busted him in the chops in his first practice back. "No problem, no pain. I rebounded, blocked shots, got a busted lip. You know, it was a normal, good practice."
The all-star power forward broke his right foot during the team's opening game in Japan on Oct. 30, tallying a whopping 21 points, 15 boards and eight blocked shots and has not played since.
"He looked pretty good," head coach Mike Dunleavy said. "It's pretty amazing the guy can come in and bang and still have his touch and timing."
But even Dunleavy was reluctant to say Brand's inevitable return would solve everything for a team that has fallen to 5-8 with losses in six of its last seven games.
"I pointed to him and said, 'Don't expect this guy to be the savior,' " Dunleavy told the L.A. Times. "There's a lot of stuff he can do. He can plug a lot of holes, but not [all] the holes that I've seen. He doesn't have that many fingers."
---------------------
Peep Show
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Wednesday, December 3
Updated: December 3
9:50 AM ET
New York Knicks: Don't tell Antonio McDyess that he's missed 171 of his team's last 181 games or that he missed all five of his shots in his return Monday night. He's just looking forward to his next time on the court, especially since it's coming away from the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. "I feel like this trip is going to help me a lot," McDyess said in the New York Times. "Five games on the road, no pressure, just going out there and playing . . . I can feel it. I'm going to be O.K. I was doing things I felt like I would never be able to do again, jumping, holding people, trying to block shots, running up the court in a full sprint."
Orlando Magic: The Orlando Magic have now lost 16 games in a row. Do I hear a franchise record 17 tonight against the New Orleans Hornets? "It's getting to the point now where we're going into games feeling like we're going to lose," said Tracy McGrady in Florida Today. "That's a bad feeling to have." And FYI, the record for consecutive losses was set by the 1983 Cavs at 24. "I think the mental toughness aspect when things start to go south on us is something that I'd like to change," said Magic head coach Johnny Davis. "I'd really like for us to show more fight."
MaloneSan Antonio Spurs: Woulda, coulda, maybe the Spurs shoulda gone after Karl Malone during the offseason. "Everything pointed toward it," Malone said in the L.A. Daily News. "It would have been closer to home (Arkansas), more outdoorsy, so to speak. So, oh yeah, I would definitely say that they had the upper hand in the beginning. But as I met with Mitch (Kupchak) and everything, I realized what the Lakers were doing, and they (the Spurs) were going in a different direction. And I accepted that . . . Coach Pop (Gregg Popovich) was very honest with me. And then they got more aggressive at the end, instead of the beginning. ... If they would have came at me a little harder, it probably would be a little different. But it didn't. And it worked out for the better here."
Philadelphia 76ers: Allen Iverson knows a little something about playing hurt and also when teammate Marc Jackson shouldn't. "At halftime, we found out what happened with 'Jack,' " Iverson said in the Philadelphia Daily News. "[He] was a little emotional; he still wanted to go back in. He felt he hurt it early and kept playing. I looked at the X-rays and didn't say anything because he was real upset, but I was thinking, 'You can't play with a hand like that.' I'm not a doctor, but I could look at that X-ray and I could see the break." Jackson broke the finger on left hand and the Sixers are hoping they can activate forward Glenn Robinson with Derrick Coleman still on the injured reserve list.
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Wednesday, December 3
Updated: December 3
12:35 PM ET
If Boston Celtics swingman Paul Pierce has said it once, he's said it a million times.
"Every time we lose games, it's not because of our effort, it's because we lose leads," Pierce told the Boston Globe. "The team understands what it has to do. It's got to come from each and every individual. My whole point is that everything doesn't start with me. Everything doesn't go through me. At the same time, every individual player has the responsibility to make this a better team and turn things around."
He had more to say after his team was outscored 25-19 in the fourth quarter by the Memphis Grizzlies Monday night and lost by seven points.
"We are going to have to become a more mentally tough team," said Pierce. "Right now we're not where we should be. We haven't reached our potential."
Maybe he was still mad about being outscored 45-34 by the Sixers in the second half of a game they ended up losing by two. Or perhaps it was the game in which they were outscored 51-32 in the second half and lost to the Knicks by three.
Paul Pierce
Shooting Guard
Boston Celtics
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
17 22.3 7.1 5.5 .405 .846
"There's a lot of things people can do to help this team win," Pierce told the Boston Herald. "Of course you'll be frustrated with losing, but we know what we have in this room. That's the frustrating part -- we can win these games."
A closer look at the stats backs him up. The Celtics were 12-5 at this point last year, having gone 4-2 in games decided by seven or fewer points, including two overtime wins in which they outscored the Hawks 26-16 in the fourth quarter and outscored the Lakers 31-24 down the stretch.
But this year's team has a record of 3-8 in games decided by seven or fewer points. In fact, the Celtics have never lost by more than eight but have a record of 7-10.
And what's making Pierce so mad is not the fact that they are losing, but how they're losing.
Last year's team shot 41.5 percent from the field. This year's team shoots 42.8 percent. Last year's team was outrebounded by 4.2 on average, while this year's team is outrebounded by only 1.6. This year's team may shoot worse from long range and have more turnovers, but it also shoots better from the free-throw line and holds opponents to 3.9 fewer points per game.
The statistics are almost a wash. But that isn't what Pierce is talking about. He's talking about bouncing back after losses. He's talking about playing tougher as the game wears on. He's talking about, well, mental toughness.
"But this isn't the first time I've talked about these things," Pierce said. "This is something we already know -- something we've talked about for the last couple of weeks."
When last season's team was blown out 114-69 by the Wizards on Oct. 31, it won the following game against the Knicks to start a six-game winning streak. When that streak ended with back-to-back losses, Boston rebounded to win its next four.
This year's team has never won more than two games in a row and already owns losing streaks of three and four games.
"He's our captain," head coach Jim O'Brien told the Boston Globe. "He's welcome to express his views. If that's what he feels, I'm sure he talked to the team about it. That's fine. That's why he's the captain. I think that he takes a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. He should say what he has to say."
But O'Brien is a bit more diplomatic about it.
"When I think of mental toughness, I think of guts, and we have plenty of guts," said the coach. "We're disappointed as a group that we haven't finished off our opportunities. When we give the attention to our defensive responsibilities, I think things will turn around. We need to pay attention to details. I still have a lot of faith in this basketball team."
Nets losing confidence?
Alonzo Mourning has retired, but the New Jersey Nets, with veterans like Jason Kidd, Kerry Kittles and Lucious Harris, are just as confident as ever that they're the team to beat in the Eastern Conference ... right?
"I don't know," team president Rod Thorn told the New York Post. "And I say that because some of these teams in the East are better. Indiana's better. Detroit is better. New Orleans is better. And it's too early. We haven't played enough good games for me to say we're going to be in that caliber. ... But I don't know right now. I really don't."
Kerry?
"I'm always concerned when we lose three games in a row, especially when we're not playing the style we're capable of playing against teams we should beat," Kittles said after the Nets lost to the Blazers, Kings and Jazz with a game tonight against the Grizzlies.
Lucious?
"That's real damaging to a team. It's a roller-coaster all the time. You want an even keel but it's not," said Harris. "We're coming out flat in the first couple quarter and it's killing us."
Sure, they have a 7-10 record, were down to the Kings 60-28 by halftime and were outrebounded by the Jazz, 51-25. But these are the Nets, right? The two-time defending Eastern Conference champs, right?
Certainly head coach Byron Scott, in the final year of his contract and looking for an extension thinks so, doesn't he?
"It's something we have to figure out because rebounding doesn't have a lot to do with skills, it has to do with your will against his will," Scott said.
Brand to the rescue?
The Los Angeles Clippers aren't exactly sure when Elton Brand will be cleared to play, but now that doctors have cleared him for full-contact practices, they aren't waiting around to get him back into the grind.
Brand"Getting elbows in the face -- I've missed that," Brand told the L.A. Daily News after teammate Melvin Ely busted him in the chops in his first practice back. "No problem, no pain. I rebounded, blocked shots, got a busted lip. You know, it was a normal, good practice."
The all-star power forward broke his right foot during the team's opening game in Japan on Oct. 30, tallying a whopping 21 points, 15 boards and eight blocked shots and has not played since.
"He looked pretty good," head coach Mike Dunleavy said. "It's pretty amazing the guy can come in and bang and still have his touch and timing."
But even Dunleavy was reluctant to say Brand's inevitable return would solve everything for a team that has fallen to 5-8 with losses in six of its last seven games.
"I pointed to him and said, 'Don't expect this guy to be the savior,' " Dunleavy told the L.A. Times. "There's a lot of stuff he can do. He can plug a lot of holes, but not [all] the holes that I've seen. He doesn't have that many fingers."
---------------------
Peep Show
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Wednesday, December 3
Updated: December 3
9:50 AM ET
New York Knicks: Don't tell Antonio McDyess that he's missed 171 of his team's last 181 games or that he missed all five of his shots in his return Monday night. He's just looking forward to his next time on the court, especially since it's coming away from the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. "I feel like this trip is going to help me a lot," McDyess said in the New York Times. "Five games on the road, no pressure, just going out there and playing . . . I can feel it. I'm going to be O.K. I was doing things I felt like I would never be able to do again, jumping, holding people, trying to block shots, running up the court in a full sprint."
Orlando Magic: The Orlando Magic have now lost 16 games in a row. Do I hear a franchise record 17 tonight against the New Orleans Hornets? "It's getting to the point now where we're going into games feeling like we're going to lose," said Tracy McGrady in Florida Today. "That's a bad feeling to have." And FYI, the record for consecutive losses was set by the 1983 Cavs at 24. "I think the mental toughness aspect when things start to go south on us is something that I'd like to change," said Magic head coach Johnny Davis. "I'd really like for us to show more fight."
MaloneSan Antonio Spurs: Woulda, coulda, maybe the Spurs shoulda gone after Karl Malone during the offseason. "Everything pointed toward it," Malone said in the L.A. Daily News. "It would have been closer to home (Arkansas), more outdoorsy, so to speak. So, oh yeah, I would definitely say that they had the upper hand in the beginning. But as I met with Mitch (Kupchak) and everything, I realized what the Lakers were doing, and they (the Spurs) were going in a different direction. And I accepted that . . . Coach Pop (Gregg Popovich) was very honest with me. And then they got more aggressive at the end, instead of the beginning. ... If they would have came at me a little harder, it probably would be a little different. But it didn't. And it worked out for the better here."
Philadelphia 76ers: Allen Iverson knows a little something about playing hurt and also when teammate Marc Jackson shouldn't. "At halftime, we found out what happened with 'Jack,' " Iverson said in the Philadelphia Daily News. "[He] was a little emotional; he still wanted to go back in. He felt he hurt it early and kept playing. I looked at the X-rays and didn't say anything because he was real upset, but I was thinking, 'You can't play with a hand like that.' I'm not a doctor, but I could look at that X-ray and I could see the break." Jackson broke the finger on left hand and the Sixers are hoping they can activate forward Glenn Robinson with Derrick Coleman still on the injured reserve list.
