BOSTONIt has truly been a search-and-discovery mission for Paul Pierce in figuring out his role in the Boston Celtics' revamped offense.
"I'm starting to get a better rhythm, starting to understand where my shots are going to come from in the offense," Pierce said. "We changed a lot of things in the offense this year."
One of the changes thus far has been Pierce spending a lot more time at the free throw line.
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He comes into today's game against Toronto averaging 10.6 free throw attempts per game which ranks fifth in the NBA.
Since Kevin Garnett arrived prior to the 2007-2008 championship season, Pierce has finished no better than 14th in the league in that category.
The year before Garnett arrived, Pierce ranked eighth in the league with 8.6 per game. In 2005 and 2006, Pierce ranked 10th and fourth, respectively.
"We all know what the Captain can do," C's guard Jason Terry told CSNNE.com. "When he's attacking, being aggressive out there, it only makes us a better team. And if you can get him to the free throw line, that's easy points for both him and our team."
A career 80.8 percent free throw shooter, Pierce is connecting on 82 percent of his free throws this season.
Getting Pierce to the free throw line as much as possible will indeed be an important factor in Boston's chances of beating Toronto. Here are some other keys to keep an eye on as the C's try to run their dominance at home over the Raptors to nine in a row.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The Celtics have not exactly lit up the scoreboard to start games, ranking 20th in first-quarter points with 23.2 per game. But that could change today against a Raptors team that tends to dig itself an early ditch by giving up 26.4 points in the first quarter which ranks 28th in the league.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: Kevin Garnett vs Andrea Bargnani: Garnett and Brandon Bass will likely switch off at times on Bargnani whose length and perimeter-shooting skills make him a scoring threat whenever you play the Raptors.
PLAYER TO WATCH: To the surprise of many, DeMar DeRozan landed an unusually large multi-year extension worth 40 million over four years last month. To his credit, he has put up some decent numbers this season - 20 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
STAT TO TRACK: The C's have been a decent 3-point shooting team this season, ranking 11th in the league at 36.8 percent per game. That number will likely see a spike today against a Raptors team that has had problems defending perimeter shots all season. Opponents are shooting 41.3 percent on 3s against Toronto, the second-worst 3-point percentage defense in the NBA.