Paul Pierce: ‘Nothing Wrong With My Knee’; Sixers Disagree


Everyone agrees that Paul Pierce isn’t at 100% due to a sprained MCL in his left knee. Everyone but Paul Pierce, that is. From ESPN: “Paul Pierce is playing on a sprained medial collateral ligament. He cannot generate any lift, the trajectory of his shot is flat and he has difficulty maneuvering to the basket. The Celtics’ sniper has lost his mark, and it’s killing them. Don’t expect any excuses from the captain. While [Ray] Allen talks openly about the floating bone spurs that leave him in excruciating pain and Mickael Pietrus reveals that he will need offseason surgery to repair his tattered knee, Pierce refuses to discuss his own personal injury battle. He ditched his knee brace for Game 2, then suffered through a 2-for-9 outing that included no baskets in the final quarter, a time frame that so often belongs to him. As he walked out of the Garden on Monday night, I saddled up next to him and offered, ‘It’s got to be frustrating.’ ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ he said, in uncharacteristically brusque fashion. ‘Your knee,’ I said. ‘It’s limiting you … ‘ ‘There’s nothing wrong with my knee,’ he said. […] Former Celtic Tony Battie, now a veteran bench player for the Sixers, has been friends with Pierce for over 10 years. ‘I know he’s hurt,’ Battie said, ‘but Paul’s definitely not going to ever admit that to anyone. You can see it. His shot is a little flat. His knee is bothering him, and he’s had some foot problems, and his lift isn’t 100 percent. But he’s still the heart and soul of that team. We know Paul. We know he can get it going. I don’t put it past him to come out with a Willis Reed-type Herculean effort in the next game.’”