“You can’t handle the truth!” is a famous quote by Jack Nicolson who played Col. Nathan R. Jessep in the movie, A Few Good Men. If you rummage through the movie cast for A Few Good Men, you will see Jack Nicolson was not the only star. Let’s see.. wow.. Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, and Kevin Pollack.  It is no surprise with the star-studded cast; A Few Good Men took home the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Paul Pierce aka “The Truth” will have a star-studded cast this season as well in Boston playing with potential Future Hall of Famers, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. The Boston Celtics may not win the Larry O’Brien trophy this year but they will be a much-improved team. I am surprised that Paul Pierce slipped to the 3rd round because when the dust settles, Paul will benefit the most with new look Celtics.

Round 3 Pick 1: Paul Pierce SG/SF, Boston Celtics

What a difference a year makes - check out yours truly wrote about Pierce in our mock draft last year.

Check out Pierce’s numbers from the last couple of seasons

’05-‘06 GP 79– 26.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 4.8 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.4 bpg, 1.4 threes, 3.5 topg, 47.1 FG%, 77.2 FT%, 35.4 3PT%
’06-’07 GP 47 – 25.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.3 bpg, 2.3 threes, 3.2 topg, 43.9 FG%, 79.6 FT%, 38.9 3PT%
: Last season, the Celtics started a “youth” movement and that left Paul Pierce alone to fend for himself. It was easy for opposing coaches to set up their defenses against the Celtics: Stop Paul Pierce. And on top of that, the “Truth” took a pounding last year and appeared in only 47 contests. Pierce was forced to sit out because of a sore left elbow and foot and Boston’s quest for more ping-pong balls. The Celtics had the second worst record at 24-58 last year and ended up with the worst scenario - the 5th overall pick in this year’s draft. The Celtics had as much luck as a vegetarian winning dinner at a steak house.

Opposing defenses will have a harder time defending the Celtics this year. Defenses will now have to pick their poison in whom to defend. Guard the perimeter and KG will rip you apart in the post. Send help inside to guard KG and Allen or Pierce will rain down threes. The offense should run mostly through Pierce. The “Truth” will be able to dump the ball to either the post to Kevin Garnett or on the perimeter to Ray Allen, which will create more space on the court. Double P will be able to take his man to the hole or get free for an open shot. In turn, Paul’s scoring average will reach career highs this year with solid percentages from the field and foul line. Pierce was able to average 4 assists/game passing to stiffs like Wally Szczerbiak and Ricky Davis, so expecting Pierce to average five to six assists/game passing to KG and Allen, primarily, isn’t too out there to expect.

Expect no let down to Pierce’s hustle numbers this year. With all the attention KG commands in the paint, it will leave Pierce free on the weak-side to grab his fair share of boards. Pierce will easily match his career average of 6.5 rebs/game. With the strong supporting cast, Double P will be able to gamble a little more on D. Expect Pierce to average close to 2 steals/game.

Paul Pierce may not win any awards this year but he will show the NBA that they can’t handle the Truth!

With previous picks, Lebron James and Carlos Boozer, I like the scoring potential of this team. This trio will rock the FG% and points cats. Just need to add some blocks and a PG in the next couple of rounds and this team will shape up quite nicely.

Other Players on this Fantasy Team:

1.1. Lebron James, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers
2.12 Carlos Boozer, PF/C, Utah Jazz

Previous Round Selections
Round One Recap
Round Two Recap