When Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined the Boston Celtics for the 2007-08 season, Paul Pierce knew that adjustments had to be made.
The trio understood they needed to buy-in and share the rock, and Pierce believes that task was much easier for his veteran squad than it's proving to be for the Celtics' current youth core.
"These guys are still trying to establish their name in the league," Pierce told Boston.com's Chad Finn. “When we came together, we were all established. We knew we had to sacrifice, we knew we had to be different. We know we might get less touches, less minutes. We knew it. It’s much harder for a young player that hasn’t been established yet."
The Celtics have underachieved following last season's run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Entering Sunday's play, the team sits fifth in the East and five games back of the first-place Toronto Raptors.
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Terry Rozier haven't taken the next step after leading the Celtics to within a game of an NBA Finals berth. The return of All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward was expected to give the club a boost, but instead the Celtics have had troubles integrating them.
“I’m not surprised by what’s gone on,’’ Pierce said. “With Kyrie and Gordon (back), a lot of people’s roles have changed since the playoffs last summer, and that’s why they’ve struggled to be consistent."
Pierce believes that Rozier, Brown, and Tatum got used to "playing a certain way" and now need to adjust to accommodate Irving and Hayward, which is easier said than done.
“It can be tough on a player when they felt comfortable in a role that benefited the team and helped them win and now they have to adapt to a new role for the better of the team," he said. "They want to win, but they want to establish themselves too. They’ve got contracts coming up. There’s a lot of things that they’re playing for. And some of that stuff can get in the way of the ultimate goal. That’s what I’m seeing."
