This past offseason, future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce stunned the basketball world when he announced his decision to join the Washington Wizards on a 2 year contract.

Obama , J Wall here I come — Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) July 13, 2014

Pierce is known for a variety of things: winning a championship as a Celtic, veteran leadership, using his savvy to draw fouls, and perhaps most importantly of all, his ability to hit big shots. Washington Wizards fans envisioned Pierce making clutch plays to close out games, such as this dagger in the playoffs vs. the Toronto Raptors last season:

Slotting in at the small forward spot, Pierce made up for the defensive presence of Trevor Ariza by bringing instant offense to the table for the Wizards, with his off the dribble scoring skillset and clutch shooting. There were countless times this season where Pierce buried huge three pointers at the end of games, notably against the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics to name a couple.

Despite his huge contributions earlier this season, Paul Pierce hasn’t been as effective as of late.

He is in a bit of a shooting slump, shooting just 28.1% from the field in his last 5 games. Furthermore, he is averaging just 3.4 minutes per game in the fourth quarter in the last 5 games, sitting out the entirety of the Charlotte Hornets game after three quarters (which went into double overtime).

Despite the recent skid, Pierce is simply too valuable to sit. He is shooting 42.9% from the field in the 4th quarter this season, including 41.9% from deep. This is a man who lives for taking the big shot, as evidenced by the article he wrote for The Players Tribune earlier this month:

“I’ve been practicing for this situation my entire life, so I knew exactly when to make my move. Five seconds. Four seconds. I see an opening and start driving to the basket, but Amare cuts it off. Two seconds. I step back, using my body to lean off of him and create space. Then all I see is the basket. I take the shot.”

Of course, Pierce is 37 years old and Randy Wittman is wise to keep him well rested and energized for the playoffs. However, with the race for the 3rd seed still alive, Wittman and the Wizards should be doing everything possible for the chance to play the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round as opposed to the Toronto Raptors or Chicago Bulls.

Here’s to hoping that Paul Pierce gets a few more 4th quarter minutes ahead of Martell Webster.