Paul Pierce is hoping for a fourth-quarter role with Clippers once the postseason begins
Clippers forward Paul Pierce (34) defends against Warriors center Andrew Bogut during the first half.
He’s gotten his teammates to dance after victories. He’s provided a fresh viewpoint in a locker room where the primary voices have been there so long they may sound like echoes.
Soon it will be all about what Paul Pierce has to say on the court.
The veteran forward famously said he called ballgame after beating the Atlanta Hawks with a buzzer-beating jumper in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season, a role he would like to reprise as a playoff hero in the coming weeks with the Clippers.
“I’m hoping,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said Wednesday when asked if he envisioned Pierce being a late-game option in the playoffs. “I mean, that would be great if that happens.”
Pierce has routinely been on the bench at the end of games this season but would like to be someone the Clippers could go to in the final minutes alongside top scorers Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.
“I’m capable of it, so we’ll see,” Pierce said. “Roles change on different teams.”
Pierce’s role will certainly change once Griffin returns from the hand and quadriceps injuries that have kept him out since Christmas. Pierce could move to small forward and start alongside Griffin or come off the bench behind him. Either way, he would like to be in the game late in fourth quarters.
Pierce has been building toward the playoffs for much of the season, sitting out games and practices whenever he feels it might benefit his 38-year-old body. He said the mental preparation is equally important.
“Great players just find another notch and another button they can push when they get to that time of year,” said Pierce, who is averaging a career-low 6.0 points per game this season, “because they know that time of the year you lose four games, you go home. You lose four games in the regular season, you still play. So it’s definitely a different mind-set.”
A veteran of 158 playoff games, Pierce knows what it takes to get there. Especially at the end of games.
“He was born with that clutch gene,” Clippers guard Jamal Crawford said.
Getting close again?
Rivers said Griffin was back to where he was before he had to scale back his workouts earlier this month after experiencing discomfort in his injured quadriceps, leading to renewed confidence he could play before the end of the regular season.
“He looks pretty good,” Rivers said. “So that’s why I feel confident, but again, you never know. I mean, I can’t guarantee anything.”
Griffin must also serve a four-game suspension for punching team assistant equipment manager Matias Testi. The Clippers have 12 games left in the regular season.
Etc.
Rivers said he liked that free agents will be able to sign with teams five days earlier than in the past thanks to the NBA’s recent decision to shorten the moratorium period in July. “I just think it’s the right timing,” Rivers said. Of course, had that policy been in place last season the Clippers probably would have lost DeAndre Jordan, who backed out of a five-day commitment to the Dallas Mavericks to re-sign with the Clippers. “But it wasn’t,” Rivers noted. … Clippers forward Jeff Green returned after sitting out the previous game because of the NBA’s concussion protocol. Green came off the bench, with Pierce starting at power forward.
NEXT UP
CLIPPERS VS. PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS
When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. PDT.
Where: Staples Center.
On the air: TV: Prime; Radio: 570, 1330.
Records: Clippers 43-27, Trail Blazers 37-35.
Record vs. Trail Blazers: 2-1.
Update: The Clippers’ last victory over Portland, on Jan. 6, came with an asterisk because Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum couldn’t play after being inadvertently left off the team’s active list. Portland will be without center Meyers Leonard on Thursday because of a dislocated left shoulder. The Trail Blazers are trying to hold off Houston and Dallas for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.
Twitter: @latbbolch
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