Pierce had an up-and-down start to his Brooklyn Nets tenure before finally clicking in as a new-age, old-age power forward in Jason Kidd’s new hybrid longball scheme. He struggles defending bigger power forwards like Carlos Boozer, but his ability to stretch the floor and his newfound comfort in this role have paid dividends during Brooklyn’s hot start to 2014, and he and Kevin Garnett sharing the frontcourt has been a key cog in that success.
Pierce hasn’t had a seamless transition to Brooklyn, even coming off the bench after a return from a right wrist injury. He also presents as many matchup disadvantages as advantages, depending on the night and opponent, and they’ll suffer on the glass mightily against big teams. But overall, he’s been solid: his shooting splits (.473-.360-.833) are right around his career averages, and he’s a product of solid ball movement, rather than anathema to it.
Pierce had an up-and-down start to his Brooklyn Nets tenure before finally clicking in as a new-age, old-age power forward in Jason Kidd’s new hybrid longball scheme. He struggles defending bigger power forwards like Carlos Boozer, but his ability to stretch the floor and his newfound comfort in this role have paid dividends during Brooklyn’s hot start to 2014, and he and Kevin Garnett sharing the frontcourt has been a key cog in that success.
