Does Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce Still Know the Secret to Beating LeBron James?

There are plenty of reasons that guarding LeBron James is no task for mere mortals, but it will continue to be a task for Paul Pierce as long as the Eastern Conference finals are still in play.

It's a matchup replete with both off-court drama and significant on-court implications—in other words, the best kind of matchup there is.

James has faced Pierce and his Boston Celtics 19 times in the postseason, including Monday night's Game 1. In four of the five postseasons in which Pierce was joined by Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, the Celtics have had to face LeBron—once with the Miami Heat last year and three times with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In short, there's a bit of history here.

While that's led to no shortage of bad-blooded theatrics, it's also given both players the opportunity to learn everything about one another, including the kind of things that watching game tape just can't prepare you for.

It's no surprise, then, that Pierce has become as effective as just about any player in the league when it comes to slowing James down (via ESPN's Brian Windhorst):

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In the 2010 playoffs, Celtics coach Doc Rivers’ game plan was to have Pierce concentrate on defending James and not to put as much emphasis on his own offense. It was part of an overall strategy to be physical with James and keep him away from the basket. Over the last three games of the series, which the Celtics won to pull the upset against the top-seeded Cavs, Pierce averaged just 14.3 points. But his defense helped the Celtics hold James to averages of just 21.3 points and 34 percent shooting as the spectrum of the series completely changed.

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There's a solid logic behind making Pierce a defense-first kind of guy when James is involved. The 34-year-old small forward has the strength, size and basketball IQ to make LeBron work harder than he otherwise might need to.

Even if such an effort falls short of containing the three-time MVP, Boston doesn't have many superior options (short of double-teaming James and allowing him to win games with his passing ability).

But as much as Pierce has proven about his ability to ruffle LeBron's feathers, it might not be so easy this time.

For starters, he may still be slowed by a sprained MCL that continued to cause problems throughout Boston's second-round series against the 76ers. Another year or two of age probably hasn't helped, either.

More importantly, the Celtics can't afford to tell Pierce he's just a defender—not with Ray Allen struggling and the bench so short on scoring threats. It's no coincidence that he put up 18 shots last night, and it's no surprise he made just five of them.

Of course, even if Doc Rivers' club was playing at full capacity, it's a lot harder to stop the Miami Heat than it was the Cleveland Cavaliers. Paul Pierce can do his very best, and it still may not be enough.

Whether or not he remembers how to stop LeBron James, he may need to adapt to a whole new ballgame.