Mar 27, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Boston Celtics power forward Jeff Green (8) celebrates his game-winning layup against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve all seen it before Paul Pierce dribbles at the top of the key, runs out the shot clock and takes a stepback jumper at the elbow. It’s become so predictable and unsuccessful that in any clutch situation I see at least 20 “No ISO PIERCE” tweets streaming down my timeline. Not to say Paul has lost his “clutch gene” or anything but a lot of the lift that he use to have in that jumper is now gone and it’s time for Doc to rely on someone else, someone like…….Oh I don’t know maybe Jeff Green?

I know what you’re thinking “Jeff can’t replace Paul!” and “Paul has hit so many game winners” but I’m not saying Jeff is going to replace Paul in the lineup or any nonsense like that just that Green can now step into the role that Paul may have outgrown. For his entire career Paul has been regarded as one of the best clutch shot makers in the league. He was one of the few very select people in the league who you really didn’t have to draw up a specific play for because you knew that he was going to get a great look. Athleticism never being a huge part of his game Paul has relied on savant like footwork and while that amazing footwork is still there you can tell Paul has lost a step. He can’t get to his spots as quick as he used to and like a I said before a lot of the lift in his jumper disappeared. This year Paul is shooting 43% in the ast 5 minutes of games within 5 pts, 35% in the last 1 minutes and 18% in the last 10 seconds of games.

While Jeff has never been tagged as having the supposed “clutch gene” he’s been phenomenal this year when it has counted. According to nba.com/stats Jeff is shooting a fantastic 53% in the last 5 minutes of games with the score within 5pts(Pretty good for a guy coming off Heart Surgery). He’s also already had two game winners this season let’s take a look at them.

The video above is of Jeff’s first gamewinner against Indiana. It featured one of the best out of timeout plays I’ve ever seen Doc draw up. It was simple(but very effective) misdirection play that had Pierce make the defense think he was posting up but instead screening Jeff’s man which freed him along the baseline for a difficult catch and finish.

This next video is one of Jeff’s most recent clutch exploits against Cleveland. This play had Jeff initially screen Terry’s man who then screened Jeff’s man which freed up the lane for the gamewinning layups.

Now these plays aren’t flashy like a stepback  jumper but they’re precise and effective. They’re the type of plays that can catch a defense off guard and win you a game. And you don’t have to completely phase Paul out since he can still be used as a very effective decoy as evidenced in the Indy game. While Paul hasn’t exactly been super efficient in clutch situations he is still one of the leagues better playmakers in the league averaging 8.8 assists per 48 minutes of “clutch time” though as to not completely dissolve his role in the team.

Jeff is no Michael Jordan but he has been very good this season in the clutch. He’s going to be a huge part of this team in the foreseeable future so why not acclimate him to the role he’ll eventually fill, right now?

You can follow me on Twitter @TreyAdell for Celtics/NBA related tweets!

Dec 12, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics small forward Paul Pierce (34) drives the ball over Dallas Mavericks shooting guard Dahntay Jones (30) during the second overtime at the TD Garden. Celtics defeated the Mavericks in double overtime 117-115. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Last night the Celtics had trouble closing out the Dallas Mavericks. They eventually won the ugly contest 117-115 after dropping a 17 point third quarter lead. It took two overtimes to win the game because the Celtics’ late game ‘heroics’–if you will–almost led to the Celtics demise.

It seems that without Ray Allen, the Celtics have lost their flawless execution in late game situations. Having a dependable three point threat down the stretch is always something good to have. Allen was particularly special because of his shooting form. He was able to get a a shot off in most situations without it being blocked. There was always a good chance that the shot was going in.

Here’s an example of how the Celtics have used Allen to win games in the past. Its a notable one, too–a game winning shot against the Knicks in the playoffs. Take a look.

This was a brilliant play, yet so simple. It was a staple of the Celtics’ late game offense when Ray was still on the team. Ray would set a pick for Paul and then Garnett would come over and set a brush screen to set Allen up for a wide open look on the wing. Take a look at the pictures below.

In the image above Allen sets his pick for Pierce. The defense is already keying in off of Pierce because he’s the one with the ball in his hands. Allen is popping so they’ll try to take away that passing lane instead of sticking with him. The second part of the play is what killed the defense every time.

As you can see, Garnett sets the brush screen for Allen to get to the wing. Piece has a very open and direct passing lane to Allen and he gets it to them for the game winning shot. There was no one within five feet of Allen on that shot. That’s how great they were at executing this set.

Since Allen has been gone there have been ample opportunities for Boston to win games of this caliber all year long. A lot of them have resulted in long isolation jumpers from Pierce and Rondo. There has been one time that I can recall–off the top of my head–where there was a set play that was run well in crunch time. Against Milwaukee, the Celtics got Pierce a good look on a very long three late in the game. He could’ve potentially won it, but it resulted in a miss.

Other than that I’ve seen nothing positive late in games from Boston and there are a lot of factors that can go into that. A big one is that this is a new team that may not be used to each other’s tendencies. A big part of execution late in games is knowing each other and where they’re going to be on the floor. I’m sure that Boston practices this, but maybe Rivers sees something that he doesn’t like in their execution.

Its still very early in the season and things can change here. The Celtics are going to get better at set plays late in the game. Running it through Rondo or Pierce for an isolation jump shot 20 feet away from the rim is not ideal. I have a couple of plays that I’d like to see Boston run late in the game. They involve screening from Jason Terry and Paul Pierce getting the ball.

Here is the first one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxndMsU7Kfk&feature=plcp

This  one was early in the game in the second quarter against the San Antonio spurs. The play resulted in a miss, but it was a wide open look and something that would work late in the game.

Oddly enough, the Celtics have only used Jason Terry as a roll man in the pick and roll game this one time, per mysynergysports. I thought that Doc would take advantage of Terry’s screening ability as he’s a more than capable one.

That turns out to not be the case, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start now. In the video above Terry sets a solid screen on Danny Green. Both Gary Neal and Danny Green are fixed on stopping Pierce from getting to the rim. This leaves Jason Terry wide open on the right wing. Here’s a picture below.

Terry initially has an open look but takes a dribble in to make the shot closer. That allowed the Spurs defense to recover and get a good contest on Terry’s shot. Had Terry taken the initial three, it would’ve been a much better look. Take a look at the video in action.

Here’s another one–and probably my favorite. Terry sets another screen for Pierce coming from the baseline. The defenders initial reactions are to either jump out at Pierce as Terry pops to the corner or maybe the baseline for an easy look or stay with Terry to prevent him from hurting them with his shooting touch. In this case, the defense would be picking its poison. Its the same scheme that was ran against Miami last night in Golden State on a game winning play. This time, its a guard and a forward and not a guard and a big running it.

Take a look at the picture here.

You can see that this is a very effective play. The same action can go on on the weakside of the ball as well, so if you line up Courtney Lee and Kevin Garnett on that side you can get the same results. Take a look at the play in real time.

Terry sets the pindown against the 76ers defense and they choose to stay with him instead of going with Pierce. In the confusion of an end game situation with the game on the line it’d take perfect communication to defend this play. Pierce got the open look for an easy two points against the 76ers.

There have been many promising looks that the Celtics have manifested throughout games, but the execution at the end of them leaves a lot to be desired. If they run some of these sets at the end of their games, I’m sure they’ll have more late game success. Until then, I doubt that the Celtics will be able to close anything out in the final five or 10 seconds of their games.

Take a moment. Watch that and take it in. That’s the shot that won the Celtics the game last night.

Brought to you by, none other than, Paul Pierce. The man that they call the Truth.

When asked if Pierce was thinking about taking the three point shot during that possession the whole time he answered with these comments.

Situations and things are going so fast, you kind of play on instincts.

He just took the shot. Pierce also said that LeBron backed off of him a little and he knew it was his range. Let me start out by saying that it was an awful possession. The clock hadn’t died down that much, but it was dwindling. For Pierce to hoist up a three point attempt with LeBron James, a member of the all defensive first team, down his throat was amazing.

For him to have the guts to take such a shot is even more amazing. Pierce originally had Shane Battier, a favorable matchup, on him. Rondo then makes the mistake of setting a pick for Pierce in trying to free him up for an open look. I’m not sure if Rondo had any clue that James and Battier would end up switching assignments, but that’s what happened.

They switched. James was on Pierce. Rondo was out of the play. It was an isolation. They were going one on one. James and Pierce; two of the NBA’s greatest active rivals. Playoff hopes, title contention, and legacies were all riding on this one shot. Pierce came through in one of the most clutch moments of the game. Something that it has been said that James has the inability to do. Something that many players will shy away from when the time comes.

Not Pierce. He wants the ball when these moments arrive. He has full confidence in himself and in his team and will do anything in his power to win a game.

Pierce’s shot could represent so much for the people of Boston and basketball in this city. Pierce’s most decorated rival during his career in Boston was right in his face. These two have had so many battles since James has come into the league. 40 point and 50 point games respectively. Playoff success at the counterparts expense. All of this came to a head last night. They say that they don’t think of these moments in that way, but I don’t believe that one bit.

Pierce knows that he loves beating James and James knows that he loves sticking it to the Celtics. You can tell because of moments like these that the games mean a lot to these two teams.

A win for the Celtics tomorrow night would put this shot in Boston history forever. If they are able to get to another NBA Finals with this team the way it is currently constructed would be a feat that was said to be impossible for the Celtics. Especially since the lockout condensed the schedule. During the beginning of the season a lot of basketball pundits and aficionados were writing this team off.

They were said to be to old and too slow to compete with the likes of the Heat and the Bulls. Well now Kevin Garnett is having a second childhood, Rajon Rondo is cementing his place in the upper echelon of point guards in the NBA, and Boston is looking like a championship team.

Pierce’s shot is only the beginning for this team right now. As far as they are concerned it only won them one game. They must close the Heat out in their return to Beantown in game 6 and then they are going to focus on winning the opening game of the NBA Finals.

For this team they have to take things one step at a time. However, it is still good to step back and take a look at what could possibly be a damn good moment in Boston Celtics history.