Paul Pierce has the most unenviable job in the playoffs.

He has to guard LeBron James, which is difficult enough. But if Pierce plays well defensively, then clearly James’ elbow was bothering him. If James goes off — as he did in Game 1 when he scored 35 points — then it’s on Pierce, even if it was a team breakdown.

He also has to play against James on the other end of the floor, and James is an imposing defense who was just named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team.

There’s a lot riding on Pierce in this series, and through two games it’s tempting to say that he’s the one starter who has yet to get it going. Rajon Rondo has obviously been tremendous. Ray Allen scored 22 points in Game 2. Kevin Garnett has recorded back-to-back games of 18 points and 10 rebounds and has been a key to the Celtics offensive gameplan. Then there’s Kendrick Perkins, who has done an excellent job of holding down the fort against Shaquille O’Neal.

Pierce hasn’t been bad, but his numbers would suggest that he’s been off. He’s shooting just 33 percent and averaging 13.5 points. Additionally, he’s taken a large number of 3-point attempts (11 of his 27 attempts have been from behind the arc, and he’s made just three of them). That continues a playoff trend that started in the Miami series when Pierce took 38 percent of his shots from 3-point range, up from his season-average of 30 percent.

“It’s what he’s getting,” Doc Rivers said Wednesday. “We want him to attack more, but it’s not anything that were panicked about.” 

Expect for stretches of the fourth quarter in both games, the Celtics haven’t exactly been hurting for offense either.

“We’re fine,” Rivers said. “Game 2 we scored 104 points and shot 50 percent. We have a lot of guys. A lot of guys are involved. We are a spread-the-wealth team. That’s how we play.”

That’s how Pierce has played. Argue with his shot selection if you want, but with Rondo attacking the basket at every opportunity and Garnett’s use in the low post, there have been fewer opportunities for Pierce to drive. 

“I’m playing within the system,” Pierce said. “I try to give the game what it needs.”

Pierce did acknowledge in Cleveland he’s taken more 3-pointers than he has in the past, but his argument is that he’s good shooter and he’s getting good shots. 

“In the playoffs, I’m taking them more than I have, but this year I’ve made more than I have in while,” Pierce said between Games 1 and 2. “If it’s a good shot, I’m going to take it. I did win the 3-point contest, remember?”

In the interest of context, Pierce line about winning the 3-point contest was a joke, not an “I-don’t-get-no-respect” lament. But he has reason to throw that out there. He made over 41 percent of his 3-pointers this season, which was a career best. He also set a career-mark in True Shooting Percentage, which takes into account 2’s, 3’s and free throws.

He started the year ridiculously hot from beyond the arc, cooling a bit as the season wore on, but Pierce is a career 37 percent 3-point shooter, so it’s not like this is a new facet of his game.

He’s also well aware of what he’s doing on the floor. Pierce is a tape junkie, especially during the playoffs. Along with studying opponents’ sets, tendencies and style of play, he also examines himself.

“I definitely do,” Pierce said. “I see things that I’ve done wrong. I see things that I do right and try to do more of it.”

Pierce is not only matched up with James, he’s also playing against one of the best team defenses in the NBA. The Cavaliers play a somewhat similar defensive style as the Celtics. They load up on the ball and try to force you into a mistake. In order to beat it, you have to make the defense move and react. 

“You got to be strong with the ball,” Pierce said. “You have to get to the spot where you want the ball. They’re really good on the strong side, so you have to do a better job of driving and kicking, setting screens, those type of things to get guys open.”

In other words, Pierce understands that simply lowering his head and barreling into the teeth of the Cavaliers defense is not the right play. Perhaps it would lead to more free throws, and the Celtics absolutely want to get to the line more, but it would also detract from what they’re doing, which has been successful.

There’s also the matter of defending James. Pierce’s plan is to make him play over the top of the defense, rather than drive to the basket where he can do more damage and collect fouls on the Celtics big men.

Whether it is concern for his elbow, or the play of Pierce and the Celtics team defense, James spent more time on the perimeter in Game 2 than he did in Game 1. The idea is to make James play in traffic.

“That’s the mission right there,” Pierce said. “Send him into the help. Send him into a crowd. When he’s going north and south, he’s almost unstoppable. One-on-one, he’s tough to guard. I’ll settle for him knocking down jumpers instead of getting to the rim consistently and getting guys in foul trouble. You got make him move east and west for the most part.”

It won’t get any easier for Pierce. He knows that, and it’s to his credit that he hasn’t tried to make this into a personal battle with James, which over the course of a series he would lose.

Is he capable of one or two breakout games in this series? If you have to ask the question, then you clearly haven’t been watching him over the years.

The Celtics may wind up needing one or more of those type of performances if they are to win the series, especially if Garnett’s injury is a problem. Pierce will surely adjust his game if they do, but for now the plan is working just fine.