VIDEO: Paul Pierce injures shoulder, 'been a problem' in past

It mattered little in the end, but the Brooklyn Nets had to play 47 minutes of Sunday's game against the Sacramento Kings without forward Paul Pierce. They would win 104-89 without him, but that's hardly the point.

Just 1:11 into the game, Pierce banged shoulders with Jason Thompson and came up in obvious pain. The 36-year-old Pierce would leave the game and not return, leading to concern about the status of his right shoulder.

Following the game, however, Nets coach Jason Kidd didn't sound too concerned, calling Pierce day-to-day and saying "we'll see how they feel tomorrow" ("they" also referring to Andrei Kirilenko, who sprained his right ankle Sunday).

More concerning, though, was Pierce's revelation earlier in the week that he's suffered from stingers in his right shoulder regularly over the past few years, and that it wasn't feeling good even prior to the contact with Thompson.

"It's been a problem for me throughout the last few years," Pierce had said on Friday. "It's weak right now, so whenever I get hit in that shoulder ... just with the constant years of banging, especially now that I'm playing the four. So it's a quick stinger."

With the Nets playing again on Monday against Toronto, it seems likely they'll opt to let Pierce rest. He could then either play Wednesday and have two days off, or skip Wednesday's meeting with the Miami Heat, too, giving him nearly a full week of recovery before the team's next game, Saturday at Washington.

Should Pierce need to sit, either Alan Anderson or Andray Blatche could enter the starting lineup in his place, though what team Kidd trots out is largely up in the air given the uncertain status of Pierce, Kirilenko and Kevin Garnett.

In 56 games this season, Pierce is averaging 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists with slightly above-average efficiency on the offensive end. The move to more power forward has agreed with him offensively, though as he mentioned, it takes a larger toll on the other side of the ball.