Paul Pierce seemingly dreads promise to walk 20.2 miles barefoot to work as Celtics go down 0-2

Paul Pierce was confident that the Boston Celtics would win Game 2 of the second-round series against the New York Knicks. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer promised on "Speak" that he would walk to the studio should the Celtics lose.

Following the Celtics' 91-90 loss, Pierce posted a photo of the map with directions labeled 20.2 miles. He added two "face-vomiting" emojis to the tweet, seemingly dreading what he guaranteed, as the walk would take eight hours to complete.

On Wednesday's "Speak," host Joy Taylor asked Pierce how confident he was that the Celtics would blow out the Knicks in Game 2.

"If the Celtics lose Game 2 at home, I promise you, I’m walking here tomorrow," Pierce said. "I'm walking here, 15 miles. I'm walking here in my robe, no shoes on, barefeet, if the Celtics lose tonight."

While Taylor and co-host Keyshawn Johnson said he should not promise a Celtics win, Pierce doubled down on his projection.

"I guarantee this one, put the house on this game," Pierce added. "No shot we losing."

Pierce was born in Oakland, but his family moved to Inglewood, California. He has not officially stated his residence, but an article from the Los Angeles Times in March 2024 wrote that Pierce has a home in Woodland Hills in LA's San Fernando Valley region.

The daily episodes of "Speak," which Pierce co-hosts since September, are filmed at Fox Network Center in Century City, LA.

Paul Pierce's Celtics teammate Kendrick Perkins says Game 2 was a "must-win" for Boston

On Wednesday's "First Take," Paul Pierce's former Boston Celtics teammate, Kendrick Perkins, said that Game 2 is a "must-win" for the defending NBA champions.

"You can't afford to go down 0-2 to the Knicks," Perkins said. "Drop two straight at the crib and expect to go to Madison Square Garden and think things are gonna be sweet. ... You do down 0-2, this series is over with."

While Boston is in a difficult position as their Eastern Conference semifinals series shifts to New York for Games 3 and 4, coming back from a 2-0 hole has been done before.

According to an article by Nate Cunningham on April 22, 34 teams have won a playoff series after being down 2-0. The record is 34-425. Most recently, the Indiana Pacers won the 2024 East semis against the Knicks after losing the first two games.