Give Paul Pierce Some More Support

(Photo courtesy of DGA Productions)

By: Greg Payne

Remember the last time the Boston Celtics gave Paul Pierce help? Sure you do. Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, James Posey and Eddie House walked through that door and the rest was history of the World Championship brand.

Now, that help was put in place both beside Pierce (Garnett, Allen, House) and behind him (Posey at times), but once Posey danced his way down to New Orleans, Pierce's shadow loomed much larger, with no single player capable of adequately filling his spot when he took his breaks on the bench.

Tony Allen might have very well regressed as a basketball player this past season, and Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens were both to new to this whole NBA thing to step in and make an impact, although Walker had his moments at times. Brian Scalabrine's game was much more tuned to deal with opposing versatile big men (Dirk Nowitzki, Mehmet Okur), as opposed to lethal small forwards (LeBron James, Kobe Bryant).

Those were Pierce's potential backups last season. If you want to talk about the truth, the god awful version is that Pierce had no support behind him and while it started out as an inconvenience, once Kevin Garnett went down, it turned into a glaring insufficiency.

If you need proof as to what a legitimate backup shooting guard/small forward can do for a team, look no further than your Eastern Conference Champions. Mickael Pietrus, the unquestioned 6th Man of these 2009 NBA Playoffs, has so far proven that a quality backup at a key position can improve a team some deemed "inferior" by leaps and bounds. Let the stats show that Pietrus alone demolished the entire Cleveland Cavaliers' bench, outscoring them, 83-66 in the 6 games of the Eastern Conference Finals. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy could easily spell Hedo Turkoglu, Courtney Lee and even Rashard Lewis without needing to adjust a single portion of his original game plan. And now the Orlando Magic are off to the NBA Finals because of it.

Now, coming back to the Celtics, imagine coach Doc Rivers counting on Allen, Scalabrine, Walker or Giddens for a similar performance. Imagine I Am Legend starring Mos Def as opposed to Will Smith or Cast Away with Jason Biggs rather than Tom Hanks. Clearly Rivers knew he and his team weren't in store for such performances, and he brought that up when he discussed the offseason back on May 21st:

“We have to add shooting, and Paul (Pierce) needs a solid backup, which would help Paul drastically."

Not only Pierce, but the Celtics as a team. Age is slowly becoming a factor for Pierce, Allen and Garnett, and while each and every one of them deserves a legitimate man behind them, Allen at least has House and Garnett will most likely have either Leon Powe (when healthy), Glen Davis or a free agent-to be backing him up.

But, as currently constituted, Pierce stands alone. No wonder the captain puts such a heavy burden on himself, for when he looks to the bench, one can only imagine the dispiriting thoughts that circulate through his head.

So who are the small forward free agents available this summer? There appear to be enough quality backups available, so next season Rivers won't need to look to the bench and wince at who he sees staring back at him. Such players include:

Marvin Williams
Linas Kleiza
Trevor Ariza
Jamario Moon
Charlie Villanueva
Jarvis Hayes
Al Harrington
Matt Barnes
Grant Hill
Anthony Parker

With names like those available, and owner Wyc Grousbeck telling the Boston Herald on Sunday that the checkbook, he said, will be open for the right player, regardless of luxury tax ramifications.

The names are there. The money will be there. Now, it's time for some execution. Give Paul Pierce some more support. It worked the last time, didn't it?

Stay Tuned.