Danny Ainge may be getting a call from Paul Pierce with an offer of help — and the Celtics’ president of basketball operations would do well to answer it.

While the physical being behind No. 34 in the Garden rafters isn’t sure Jayson Tatum will ever be all that he can as long as he’s with the Celts — or at least with the current roster — Pierce thinks the second-year forward can take a dramatic step forward by taking more steps toward the basket.

Pierce wants to see Tatum drive more, believing the difference in his bottom line would be significant.

“Oh, he’d be an All-Star,” Pierce told the Herald. “Just those little things right there, getting to the hoop and getting to the line. For a guy with his athleticism, his skill set and his ballhandling, his height, he should be a guy that gets to the line at least six times a night and makes five out of six. That’ll take him from a 16-point scorer to a 20-point scorer, and he’ll be in the conversation for All-Star every year on a winning team.”

The Celtic coaches have worked with Tatum on his game, and it’s hard to argue with the overall results so far, but Pierce had a lot of driving and low post trips in his bag — enough to make him the franchise leader in career free throws made and attempted, as well as the single season record holder in both categories.

And he’s willing to share his knowledge with Tatum.

“I haven’t talked to Danny about it yet,” Pierce said. “Me and Kevin (Garnett) talked about it when he went down there, but that’s something I would love to do. I probably will talk to Danny.”

While some were looking for more from Tatum this season, Pierce is still bullish on his prospects. But he wonders when — and where — we might see his full talents bloom.

“There’s a lot of things he needs to learn, but the good thing about it is he’s still young,” Pierce said of the 21-year-old. “You know, we forget that he’s only in his second year, because the expectations that got put upon him after such great rookie year and a great playoff run. So he has a lot of time.

“Plus, we’re not going to see Tatum’s whole skill set, I believe, until he either goes to another team or there’s less talent on the team. I mean, look at James Harden. We didn’t know James Harden was going to be this until he went to Houston. He was the sixth man on OKC. Now he’s a perennial MVP and arguably the best player in the league.”

Seeing Tatum become his best elsewhere isn’t a pleasant prospect for Celtic fans, but they wouldn’t mind at all if Pierce can help make him better in a Boston uniform.

Irving notices adulation

I still believe, as I have from the start — his October announcement notwithstanding — that Kyrie Irving’s decision on whether to remain with the Celtics will largely be decided on how this season plays out. Some events over the last couple of months have made an exit look more possible or even probable to some, but I continue to believe how this team fares in the playoffs will have a major impact on his feelings at decision time.

Still I wondered if the reception Isaiah Thomas got in the Garden two weeks ago had any effect on Irving’s longer term perception of how things can be here.

He not surprisingly chose not to get into the issue of his own future when I asked him his general reaction to the Isaiah video by the Celtics and response by the fans, but he certainly did get the factors that went into it. He is well aware of the fan-player relationship in Boston.

“I think it was great,” Irving said of the Thomas tribute. “You know, for their athletes, I think they show a lot of support. Obviously they hold everybody to a very high standard and they hold them in high esteem when they come back, especially when they did great things for the organization. So that’s just great to see.”

AD ‘episode’ draws ire

A lot of people involved in the NBA were very unhappy with the way LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul, tried a power play and get Anthony Davis to the Lakers. And the ire goes to most everyone involved in the enterprise.

I got a text from a league coach who, after the aforementioned Thomas night, asked if ESPN was going to interview Davis’ father again about how poorly Isaiah was treated in Boston.

Certainly the fans’ appreciation of IT and the club’s willingness to offer a tribute video are a separate issue from him getting traded for Irving, but there is some deep animosity out there for the participants in the AD episode.

Celtics timeline

Monday vs. Miami, 7:30 p.m. — There’s a lot at stake for both sides, as the Celtics try to get the fourth seed and homecourt advantage in the first round and the Heat battle just to make the playoffs. But this game may be more noteworthy in the long run as Dwyane Wade’s final game in Boston (unless you want to bet on the longshot of Miami not only getting into the postseason but then knocking off Milwaukee, Toronto or Philadelphia — or maybe the Celts and Heat winning out and somehow getting to meet in the first round). The season regular season series between these teams is tied at 1-1, with the C’s playing very poorly in a 115-99 loss in Miami on January 10 and beating the Heat by eight in Boston 11 days later.

Wednesday at Miami, 7:30 p.m. — OK, now we get to Wade’s last game against the Celtics, period (unless, well, just refer to the caveats above). Interestingly, the Celts have held him to 19.7 points per game over 44 appearances in his career — his fifth-lowest average against any franchise. His worst is 16.4 ppg in the five games he played against the Heat for Chicago and Cleveland, and he’s also been held below 20 a game by Milwaukee, Memphis and the franchises that have occupied Charlotte.

Friday at Indiana, 8 p.m. — The race for the fourth seed could still be very much in play when these teams meet for the second consecutive Friday. But if things are settled, this might be a game in which both sides choose to rest some key rotation players.