Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals didn't exactly go according to plan for Paul Pierce. The Celtics' captain got rolling early with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting, but he also left early. Pierce was ejected with seven minutes to play after receiving his second technical.
Pierce will look to redeem himself on Tuesday night. He said at Monday's practice that he doesn't need any extra motivation, but knowing Pierce, he'll have an extra chip on his shoulder for Game 2.
As usual, it'll be a two-way challenge for the captain against LeBron James. On one end of the floor, he'll look to return to his role as the Celtics' offensive leader, but on the other end, he's got to work his behind off to contain LeBron defensively. It didn't go so great in Game 1 — King James scored 22 points, and whenever he wasn't shooting, he found an open Dwyane Wade or James Jones to do the work for him.
In other news, both teams are still missing a bench big man due to injury. Shaquille O'Neal is still out for the Celtics with his calf injury, and the Heat are still without Udonis Haslem, who's recovering from foot surgery.
Here's the lineup card for C's-Heat:
Celtics
Rajon Rondo, PG
Ray Allen, SG
Paul Pierce, SF
Kevin Garnett, PF
Jermaine O'Neal, C
Heat
Mike Bibby, PG
Dwyane Wade, SG
LeBron James, SF
Chris Bosh, PF
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, C
