Paul Pierce Could Miss Beginning Of The Celtics Season

Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce will miss Wednesday’s final exhibition game against the Toronto Raptors, and may miss the start of the 2011-12 season, according to ESPN Boston.

The Celtics star swingman has been battling with a bruised heel which he suffered during the team’s first full-squad practice. He has not been able to return fully to on-court activity since.

"We have [three] games right off the bat and he's really gone only one practice and that's basically it," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers told ESPN. "So, yeah, I'm concerned about it. It's just a heel bruise and he went real hard [Monday] and it got real sore. We just want him to rest. The problem with that is, it'll be a lot of rest, and then he may be ready, but with no play, there's that."