Doc Rivers on Paul Pierce: 'He's going to take big shots and make a lot of them'

After a couple of rough years, Doc Rivers the general manager finally had an offseason worthy of Doc Rivers the coach.

Rivers quietly bolstered his Los Angeles Clippers roster, putting them in position to contend with Western Conference juggernauts in San Antonio, Golden State, and Oklahoma City.

On top of holding on (by the skin of their teeth) to First Team All-Defensive center DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers did well to shore up their flimsy second unit, with the most notable get being Rivers' former longtime Boston Celtics disciple Paul Pierce.

Though he'll be 38 by the time the season begins, Pierce still has a lot to offer, including a reliable stroke, defensive versatility, terrific footwork, and, of course, a heavy dose of onions.

"As a player, you know he’s going to take big shots and make a lot of them," Rivers said on the "The Dan Patrick Show," according to NBA.com's Rowan Kavner. "The thing I love about him is he’s never been scared to take them. It’s great to have another guy on your team willing to do that."

Equally important, Rivers believes, is Pierce's understanding of individual sacrifice in service of the whole, an attitude the star-stuffed Clippers can never have too much of. Pierce was the only star on a middling Celtics team before Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined the fray in 2008.

"That team won (a championship) in the first year," Rivers said. "It took a lot of team-building to do that, a lot of sacrifice of shots, of egos. I think Paul has seen that. He knows what worked, and I think that’ll really help our team."

In his 17th NBA season, Pierce averaged career lows in minutes (26.2), points (11.9), rebounds (four), and assists (two), but he also knocked down 38.9 percent of his 3-point attempts and finished with his second-highest effective field-goal percentage (53.7).