Celtics Title Town

Paul Pierce seems to fight through nagging injuries every season. As he gets older. Those injuries effect his game even more, with a lost step here, and there. Paul's health is crucial for a run in the playoffs. I credit his toughness though, but with Green emerging,and with the additions of Williams,and Crawford. Doc should rest Pierce when he can.Pierce suffered a stinger against the Suns, and it's been an issue for awhile.

"I probably won’t be fully recovered from it until the season is over, if I ever do," said Pierce. "I probably have a little bit of nerve damage in my back, part of my neck. It’s something that I’ve been playing through over the last several months. I’m about as healthy as I’m probably going to be in the regular season right now."

Pierce endured an up-and-down February, but still averaged 17.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 6.8 assists, elevating his all-around efforts after point guard Rajon Rondo was lost for the season. But the injury still nags at him.

"I really don’t try to pay attention to it during the game; I don’t let little injuries kind of effect me," said Pierce. "I don’t really think about it. It’s probably been the reason I’ve been playing a little up and down now. Sometimes you get a sharp pain and sometimes I’ve had a stinger go through the same points in my neck where the pain is happening. It’s happened a lot more than normally, whether it be in practice or in a game, but it's something I'll deal with after the season."

In other notes from Thursday's practice.Newly acquired Celtic Jordan Crawford has struggled since his first game in green, and this is what he had to say about his short time with this team.

"It's going good, just adjusting," Crawford said of his first week prior to Thursday's practice. "They're embracing me, telling me to be myself and just embracing me overall and that's the best part."

"That’s what we’re hoping, that he becomes the wild card, a Barbosa in a lot of ways," Rivers said Thursday. "When he came in, you knew what he was going to do. We want to do that with Jordan. I think Jordan right now, his conscience is too good. You can see him coming in, trying to be a ball mover and that’s not really what he’s been and I don’t really want him to be that much. I want him to be an aggressive scorer, but I like the fact that he’s trying to fit in."

Crawford is trying to make the adjustment as seamless as possible. Coming from a losing team that had no hopes of making the playoffs, he knows he needs to pick things up quickly if he wants to play a role in Boston's push for the postseason.

"It's a wake-up call, no time to adjust," Crawford said of being traded to a playoff team. "You want to come in and help them right away. You don't want to have a period where you're adjusting and trying to fit in. You just want to come in and help them right away."

I think Crawford has a chance to win a game for the Celtics at some point. I get that feeling. He'll have an outstanding game off the bench sooner or later.