BOSTON – The Celtics faithful won’t have to wait too long to let Paul Pierce know just how much they will miss him.
The Captain, who announced earlier this season that he was going to retire after this season, will get the start tonight for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Pierce, who spent his first 15 seasons in the NBA, will be playing in his 13th game this season with this being his seventh start.
“I just think it was important for him [to start],” said Clippers coach Doc Rivers who also coached Pierce in Boston. “And I thought it was important for the team.”
Before making the decision, Rivers spoke with the team about it.
“They looked at me like, ‘what a dumb question,” Rivers said. “They wanted him to start which I thought was great.”
Up next?
Convincing Pierce.
“He was actually hesitant about it,” Rivers said. “He wasn’t sure if he should.”
Eventually, Pierce relented which meant his workload in the team’s practice on Saturday was … different.
“We made him practice yesterday and that was tough on him,” Rivers said.
Pierce is averaging career lows in just about every statistical category, transitioning from being a go-to guy who plays major minutes, to one whose greatest contributions at this point involve leadership which includes but is not limited to, setting an example from a work ethic standpoint.
“The way he’s doing it now is the way you should do it,” Rivers said. “He knows he’s not going to play. He works out like he’s going to play 40 minutes.”