With Boston Celtics struggling recently, some of the blame has also fallen on the two veterans. Ainge however thinks that the duo is still a force to be reckoned with .....
Boston Celtics have some of the most aged star playing basketball in NBA today. In Kevin Garnett, they have a 37 year old player who is a 17 year veteran and it was only in the playoff last season that he scorched everything which lied infront, and was the main force behind a deep Boston Celtics run, which was halted by the eventual champions Miami Heat.
Then there is Paul Pierce, the 35 years old small forward, who on Wednesday joined an elite group of stars who managed 40 points at the age. Pierce did so against the Cleveland Cavaliers in only 16 shots, and showed everyone that, although old, he is still a force to be reckoned with.
It has however not been all that hunky dowry for the C’s this season. With a gruelling season ahead, Doc Rivers has tried his best to minimize the minutes of Pierce and Garnett, and the Celtics have struggled. Even when the duo has been on the court, their performances have not been consistently good. The result is that Boston are currently 13-12 and at the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference.
Danny Ainge, the general manager of the franchise, however thinks that age is not the reason behind the performances so far. He also expresses faith in Garnett and Pierce to keep on delivering. He expressed the thoughts while talking to Boston sports radio WEEI:
"Oh, yeah. I always felt when I was that age and still playing in the league, I always felt that I could do what I always could do. You just can't sustain it for the amount of minutes. So, if you're in your prime at 27 and you can play at a very high level for 38 minutes in a game on the average and your peak performance, that by the time you get to 35 or 36, you should be able to do some of those same things maybe at a 28- to 30 minute-a-game level. And those guys are amazing. You can include Ray Allen in that as well. ... Playing at a very, very high level at their ages is unheard of. There's very few guys who have done that."
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