Paul Pierce will return to the bench in Friday's matchup with the Trail Blazers.

Pierce will return to the bench for Friday's Game 6 matchup with the Trail Blazers.

Analysis:

With Blake Griffin (quad) sidelined in Game 5, Pierce ended up logging the start at power forward as part of a small-ball lineup, but struggled to provide an impact, producing no points while missing all three of his shots from the field. Pierce hadn't been much better in the preceding four games of the series, so with the Clippers facing elimination Friday, coach Doc Rivers has opted to change things up, swapping Luc Richard Mbah a Moute back in for Pierce. The move to the bench won't necessarily result in a reduction in playing time for Pierce, who only ended up seeing 10 minutes in Game 5 anyway.