Paul Pierce Needs His Rest

Marc Spears lays out a very good case for reducing Paul Pierce's minutes this season:

During six April games, Pierce averaged 34 minutes, shot 50.5 percent from the field, and made 44.1 percent of his 3-pointers.

During 15 games in March, he averaged 39 minutes, shot 47.1 percent from the field, and 37.5 percent from 3-point range.

During 12 games in February, he averaged 41 minutes, shot 46.5 percent from the field, and 30.8 percent from 3-point range.

During 15 games in January, he averaged 35 minutes, shot 49.3 percent from the field, and 46.3 percent from 3-point range.

It's simple. Fewer minutes = higher shooting percentages. But unless Danny signs a capable back-up (No - JR Giddens and/or Bill Walker should NOT be considered to fill that void next season), Doc will be forced to stick with Paul.

Spears also lists a bunch of small forwards available for the $1.9 biannual exception or even less (I'm doing Danny a favor and eliminating a few):

• Miami’s Jamario Moon (restricted)
• Phoenix’s Matt Barnes
• Jerry Stackhouse (waived by Memphis Friday)
• Indiana’s Marquis Daniels
• Indiana's Stephen Graham
• Atlanta’s Josh Childress (restricted)
• Dallas’s James Singleton (restricted)
• Dallas's Gerald Green
• Detroit’s Walter Herrmann
• Oklahoma City’s Desmond Mason
• Golden State’s Rob Kurz
• San Antonio’s Ime Udoka
• Minnesota’s Rodney Carney

I couldn't find any other reports of whom they Celtics might be targeting. That could change if/when the Boston Herald updates its web site. If I can drag my ass out of bed and update this site by 10:30am on Sunday, the freakin' Herald should be able to get their Celtics articles posted.

Tim Buckley of the Desert News makes the case for Utah to sign Glen Davis:

If the Jazz don't match the four-year, $32 million offer sheet backup power forward Paul Millsap signed Friday with Portland, they have at least one viable alternate option.

He's Boston Celtics restricted free agent power forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis, and he'd come to Utah without whining about big bucks.

Davis, a Louisiana State product, probably could be had for midlevel-exception money — a multiyear deal starting at $5.854 million, which is about $6 million less than Millsap would cost Utah next season.

My quote of the day comes via the New York Daily News:

"Right now, the Knicks are not relevant," said a prominent player agent with a few high-profile clients in the free agent class of 2010. "Only the media in New York keeps them relevant. The Knicks are trying to do the right thing but they've got a long way to go."