Paul Pierce exits with ankle and knee injuries after scary fall
Veteran forward Paul Pierce joined the Los Angeles Clippers this summer with the intention of adding clutch shooting and a veteran presence that could put the team over the top in the playoffs. The 38-year-old future Hall of Famer has averaged a career-low 17.8 minutes for the Clippers in part to conserve his energy for the postseason, and his role has increased as the team gets closer to its first-round series.
[Follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
Unfortunately, an injury suffered minutes before halftime in Monday’s game against the Boston Celtics may put Pierce’s availability at risk, although early indications are that he has avoided a worst-case scenario. With just over two minutes reamining in the second quarter, Pierce went up for a short attempt against former teammate Jared Sullinger and landed awkwardly on his right foot. He fell to the floor and immediately grabbed his knee, causing worry that he had ended his season and potentially career in the worst possible fashion.
Thankfully, Pierce managed to walk to the locker room under his own power. He was ruled out shortly thereafter with a right ankle sprain and right knee contusion, although at least one team official hopes that he return again relatively soon:
Nevertheless, Doc Rivers expects to be without his starting forward for a meaningful period:
The Clippers can afford to wait a few weeks on Pierce, because they are all but confirmed for the West’s No. 4 seed. A comfortable 114-90 win over Boston on Monday improved their record to 46-27, good enough for 5 1/2-game gaps with both the No. 3 Oklahoma City Thunder and No. 5 Memphis Grizzlies. They may have rested Pierce for several games of these final weeks regardless. For that matter, a likely first-round matchup with the injury depleted Grizzlies would offer them more leeway than most teams expect in the postseason.
Nevertheless, it’s tough for any team to lose a rotation player in late March, especially when the Clippers already face the challenge of reintegrating Blake Griffin into the rotation when he returns from suspension on Sunday. It shouldn’t be too hard to bring Pierce back in considering he contributes primarily as a spot-up shooter, but most teams hope to make postseason adjustments for particular opponents, not themselves.
At any rate, the best news here is that Pierce will not end his career writhing on the floor in pain. Here’s hoping he returns in time to put up at least one or two more memorable performances in key situations.
– – – – – – –
Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
