Where Was Paulie Yesterday?

The Celtics beat the Heat again yesterday. Now 3-0 against "The Super Team," the C's have clinched home court advantage in the playoffs if the two squads should finish tied. Rajon Rondo was electric, rocking a triple double (11 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists), and LeBron James choked late. "The Decision Maker" bricked a crucial free throw late, and then had a Jeter-esque dive into the stands result in him passing the ball directly to Ray Allen, who fed Glen Davis for a breakaway dunk. KG led the C's with 19, Perkins had his best game of the season, Big Baby added 16 from the bench, and The Green Army rolled 85-82.

The weird thing about the game was the complete absence of Paul Pierce. St. Paulie went 0 for 10 from the field, 0 for 5 from beyond the arc, and just 1 for 2 from the charity stripe. He finished this hugely important win with 1 point, 5 boards, and 3 assists in 40 minutes (along with 3 fouls and 3 turnovers). How, in such an important game, could our best player come up so empty? Should we be concerned with his play against our primary challenge in the East?

Pierce has had two other single digit scoring game so far this season, scoring 8 points against Charlotte in December and 8 points against New Jersey earlier in December. However, those both came with decreased minutes (around the 20ish mark). So what happened yesterday? We turn to the words of the man himself, the man they call "The Truth,"

"It was tough, you know right now, just battling a couple of minor injuries to my hand and foot. So I think that really explains my tentativeness and my off-shooting today. I told Doc that I really didn't have it today, but I just tried to grind it out, and thank goodness we came out with a win."

But was "The Truth" speaking the truth? In the post game press conference, Rivers told the media that Pierce told him, prior to the game, that he was feeling "awful." Thanks to "Celtics Blog" for getting us that information, along with another tid bit that shows us that Paul may not be telling the whole truth. Paul Pierce is scheduled to get a MRI on his left foot later today.

At some point you have to figure that the injuries will just be too much for us to handle. Let's just hope that Paul's results come out negative, and that our other stars can heal up over the next month, so we can have our full squad heading into the playoffs. I guess us Celtic fans can always think of it this way: despite injuries to Semih Erden, Marquis Daniels, Delonte West, Nate Robinson, Shaq O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal, and now possibly Paul Pierce, we STILL beat the Heat. It's another shining example of how this team has quite possibly an unmatched depth compared to the rest of the NBA. That really makes me like our chances come playoff time.

At 39-14, the Celtics are all alone on top of the East (0.5 up on Miami), and get ready to face the Nets (17-38) on Wednesday. When your best player is Brook Lopez, you know you suck. Win #40 is in our sights.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē