Paul Pierce: The Ultimate Celtic
The first round series against the
Knicks was the last time we will ever see Celtic legend Paul Pierce and comrade
Kevin Garnett wear the great Celtic green. The KG era has come to an abrupt end
in the last six months. First, it was Doc and Danny deciding to rebuild. Then
it was Doc’s uncertainty to return. Then Danny sent him to L.A. for a first
round pick in 2015. It was a great run, one NBA Title, two Finals appearances,
four Eastern Conference Finals appearances and five Atlantic Division Titles.
For Paul Pierce it’s these last six years that took his career from a great
player on just a bad team to a future Hall of Famer. But, we can’t remember
Pierce and the KG era by what happened in the 2013 Knicks series. All the
wheels fell off for them. Age hit the team like a train. Numerous injuries took
a brutal toll on Pierce’s legs and it showed in his dismal shooting. But, we
cannot remember Paul by this series. Yes, it may have ended badly for him and
Kevin. But, we must remember the greatness and prominence these two brought
back to Boston for us. The amount of Hall-of-Fame memories Paul Pierce gave
Celtic nation.
Paul Pierce was never the most
athletic player out on the floor. He was never the quickest or strongest. Paul
Pierce had one thing throughout his entire career that led him to the brilliant
numbers that he will end his career with: Confidence. Some may even go as far
as saying Pierce is a little cocky the way he plays. Off the court he never
talks much trash. But, if he is in a zone, look closely at the cameras and you
can see his mouth running. Pierce carries around a certain swagger on the court
that can’t be beat. He never does is in a flashy way that pops out at you like
a Kobe or LeBron. Pierce just gets the job done.
Paul Pierce is the ultimate Celtic
because he sat through nine up and down seasons with a franchise that was far
below the expectation. From the moment he stepped on the court his rookie
season, Pierce was a twenty points a night guy. But, in just a moment’s flash
Pierce’s career and life flashed before his eyes. Just inches from his death,
Pierce survived a brutal stabbing, in which he suffered more than ten stab
wounds, and joined his teammates in training camp just weeks later. The front
office contacted Pierce and said they would trade him out of Boston if he felt
unsafe. Pierce denied that offer and said he wanted to stay in Boston because
the fans showed him how much he meant to them and the organization. Even through the horrific stabbing
incident in before 2000 season, Pierce didn’t miss a single game. The stabbing
had changed the way he played. He had upped his level of play to new heights.
He seemed to be playing angry out on the court. All of the anger built up from
his near death experience was let out on the court and helped drive the Celtics
to wins. And the revolving door that was the Celtics roster from 1998-2006,
Paul Pierce was the captain every season, played every game and was always the
leading scorer and even sometimes leading rebounder. He was the teams on and
off the court leader. And if the team snuck out a win on any given night,
you’re probably crediting Pierce for a job well done on leading the team to
victory. The team wasn’t all bad though.
2001-2004 they were a playoff team on the back of Pierce and Antoine Walker.
And in some of those playoff games Pierce put together some of Celtic history’s
biggest games. In the 2002 playoffs, he dropped forty-six on the 76ers and sent
them packing to lead Boston to its first playoff series win since 1992. Just
later in the playoffs, down twenty-one headed into the fourth quarter against a
good Nets team, Paul Pierce lit it up with nineteen in the final frame and was
the catalyst to the best 4th quarter comeback in NBA playoff history
at the time. Then there is yet another
classic, Game 4 against the Pacers in the 2003 playoffs when Pierce dropped
thirty-two points in the second half to lead them to yet another playoff series
victory. In 2004, Pierce’s good play helped lead the team to the playoffs to
only be swept by the Pacers in the first round. And the year after the Celtics
lost again in the first round to the Pacers. Pierce again leading the charge
for the team. Throughout those four playoff years one thing was a constant:
Pierce. He would always step up his play in the big spotlight. He loved to
display his great isolation game around the elbows come crunch time. Yes,
Pierce was also at times a young kid who made dumb mistakes and acted out. But,
he was the reason for any of the Celtics success and he knew. Maybe that got to
his head a little. But nonetheless, those four straight years of playoff berths
were magical with Pierce at the helm, but after that... things seemed to turn
for the worst. Statistically, 2005 was Pierce’s best season, Pierce was
lighting it up against some of the NBA’s best superstars on a daily basis. But,
those performances didn’t turn into wins for the team as they went from
straight playoff berths to a thirty-three win team. Things were looking like
the Pitino years all over again. The team looked to have no real chemistry.
They couldn’t draft anybody good. (Joe Johnson is the exception from 2001, but
of course he was shipped out after only 50 games with Boston and look where he
has ended up). The 2006 season was a
rough one for Paul. An injury early in the year really rattled his season.
After the stress fracture in his foot the team told him to take his time to
return so they could tank and get a better draft pick. The Celtics went on an
eighteen game losing streak at a point in time during the year. Paul Pierce
then infamously claimed that it was a case of “just another good player stuck
on a bad team”. Thing is, Pierce had
opportunities to leave in free agency if he wanted. And the moment Danny Ainge
arrived on the scene in 2003 Pierce was part of a bunch of trade rumors
swirling around the organization. But, Boston knew that Pierce was the real
deal by almost single handedly winning three playoff series for the Celtics and
leading them to a conference final. He was an All-Star and a premier scorer. So
yes, Boston would do anything to pay him top dollar, but if he hated it so bad
he could’ve just gone. But he didn’t. That’s the thing. Paul was a pretty
immature kid in his early years. But, he was the Celtics best player and go-to
guy. The Celtics needed Paul and Paul needed the Celtics. When he signed a
three year extension after the 2006 season, his loyalty was shown to all the
fans of Boston and the greatest organization in the NBA. And, because of that
loyalty Pierce was finally rewarded. His reward? Help. In a matter of two days
the Celtics went from worst to first in picking up Garnett and Allen. Pierce’s
loyalty was finally rewarded; help had arrived now it was time to get the job
done.
And of course, we all know the story
here. The Celtics and their new Big Three era won sixty-six games that year and
ended up winning the NBA title. This was the moment for all Celtics fans,
particularly Pierce fans, to rejoice. Pierce played magnificent in the playoffs
out dueling LeBron James and Kobe Bryant leading the Celtics to their 17th
Championship. No one can forget the Game 7 of the East semi-finals where Pierce
dropped forty-one points on LeBron and many of those points coming late in the
game. Also Game 1 of the Finals when Pierce leaves the game on a wheelchair
with a knee injury, only to return minutes later and drain three three’s and
lead the Celtics to a victory. Then in Game 4, Pierce put Kobe on a leash and
took over leading the Celtics to a win on a twenty-four point comeback. Pierce
was a master on offense. He was an efficient scorer and also a great
facilitator for the Celtics. Pierce was the heart and soul of this team. The
fans wanted him to be the heart and soul of this team; we’d been waiting for
that moment his entire career. That moment I’m talking about is during the
blowout in the clinching Game 6. When Pierce got taken out early in the 4th
he went to the bench, stood up and watched the crowd go ballistic as they were
watching their team win a title. You could see the grin on Paul’s face.
Watching the fans rejoice as Paul did too. He had finally overcome all of the
demons he had. He wasn’t just a good player on a bad team anymore; he was a
legend. Paul Pierce would be remembered in Boston with guys like Russell,
Cousy, Havilcek, McHale, Parrish, and Bird (to name a few). He would be able to
come to the TD Garden and look up in the rafters and find the 2008 Champions
banner and say: “I did that. I helped raise that.” Bill Simmons put it best in
this quote in his Book of Basketball about Pierce winning the title:
“We watched that guy grow up. We
watched him become a man. We believed in him, we gave up on him, and we
believed in him again. I don’t mean to sound like the old man in Pretty Woman,
but part of me wanted to walk onto the court Tuesday night and just tell
Pierce, “It’s hard for me to say this without sounding condescending, but I’m
proud of you.” We spend so much time complaining about sports and being
disappointed that our favorite players never end up being who we wanted them to
be, but in Pierce’s case, he became everything we wanted him to be. When he
held up the Finals MVP trophy after the game and screamed to the crowd in
delight, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier for a Boston athlete. How many
guys stick with a crummy franchise for 10 solid years, then get a chance to
lead that same team to a championship? Does that ever happen in sports
anymore?”
That’s about as perfect a quote as
you could find for Pierce. We loved him. Even through all the shit, we loved
him. We had to, he was our only guy. Seeing him stand on the podium, after Game
6 holding the Finals MVP trophy up to show to all the Boston fans as the place
erupts, you can see that same grin from thirty minutes earlier on his face. It
was honestly beautiful to see. You were so happy because the Celtics has just
won the finals for the first time in like a billion years, but you were even
happier to see Pierce standing on top of the world, the king of the NBA. Pure happiness and rejoice. Everyone in
Boston felt that with Pierce that night. Thinking of the day he was drafted, the
day he almost died from the stabbing, the days of his young playoff heroics,
the days of the struggle and now the most recent days of winning and being a
champion.
Those feelings continued on an
emotional first game of the 2009 season, Pierce was in tears while receiving
the Larry O’Brien trophy, his ring and raising the banner. That night was
another night to remember for Pierce’s career. That showed just how much he
wanted this ring and how much it meant to him to get in Boston. Seeing Pierce
beside himself out on the court in front eighteen thousand screaming supporters
really warms the heart. It brought back all those same memories from just
months earlier when Pierce was raising the Finals MVP trophy in front of
everyone in the Garden. Sitting thinking of those moments can just give me the
chills.
The Celtics and the Big Three rolled
their way to a two- seed in the Eastern Conference in 2009, but a late-season
injury to Kevin Garnett put an end to Boston’s title hopes. They were able to
win a series against the Bulls with most of the work being done by Allen and
Pierce. But, a very good Magic team was too much for a Garnett-less Celtics
squad. The team’s core was getting older by the day and the title window was
closing on the Celtics fast.
The 2010 season was a little rockier
than the two previous years for the Big Three. They were only able to muster up
a four-seed in the East. But, in their first round series against Miami, Pierce
was the catalyst on offense and actually hit a game winning step-back fade away
in Game 3 to put the Celtics up 3-0 in the series and practically clinch it.
Pierce’s clutch step-back jumper has been his go-to crunch time move since he’s
entered the league. Then he helped outduel LeBron for a second time in three
years and beat Cleveland again in seven games with a well balanced attack from
the Big Three. The Celtics then went on to play the favored Magic in the East
Final and the Celtics took care of business in six games on the back of
Pierce’s thirty-one point thirteen rebound performance in the clinching Game 6.
So, for the second time in three years the Celtics were facing off in the
Finals against their nemesis the Lakers. Pierce led the Celtics in this series
valiantly. He led the team in scoring four out of the seven games and of course
was the crunch time go-to guy. The
Celtics were up three games to two heading back to L.A. when in Game 6, Celtics
starting center Kendrick Perkins went down with a torn ACL and the Celtics
dropped Game 6. Game 7 without Kendrick Perkins would be a tough one and the
Celtics had the Lakers on the ropes late in the game. But a late game run by
the Lakers put them ahead and kept them ahead for good. The Lakers had won the
championship. One could put up the argument that if the Celtics has Perkins in
Game 7 Pierce & Co. would have two championships and Pierce surely would
have won the Finals MVP that year too. They were five points away from it.
Pierce did all he could in the 2010 Finals and came up just short. It was
heartbreaking, but the Celtics weren’t done.
The 2011 season was a disappointment
for Boston. They looked old as rocks and limped into the postseason losing in
the second round to the NBA runner-up Miami Heat. The 2012 Celtics all came
back for ‘one more ride’ according to KG. The Celtics for a second year in a
row limped into the playoffs as a four-seed. They beat Hawks in the first
round. Pierce laid out a classic performance in Game 2 with thirty-six points
and fourteen rebounds. The whole game was Paul Pierce-esque. And then the Celtics had a tough time
disposing of the 76ers. It took seven games, but they got the job done and they
were able to force an East Final against the team that knocked them out the
year before: Miami Heat. The Truth, in a pivotal Game 5, sunk a deep three
pointer in LeBron’s face to give the Celtics a four point lead with little time
left. The Celtics had taken a 3-2 lead in the series, but then they froze up
big time in Game 6. In Game 7, the Celtics were leading most of the way. They
were on their way to the Finals for a third time in five years. But then, the
Heat went on a run and took the lead for good on the underdog Celtics. It was
tough to watch the Celtics come so close to another Finals appearance and watch
it slip away. They were a huge underdog and gave Miami the fight of their
lives. Paul Pierce’s clutch helped propel the Celtics almost to the Finals, but
age had hit them. These guys just weren’t as athletic as the younger guys.
Pierce doesn’t have the hops or speed of many guys in the league. And now more
than ever he has relied on a beautiful read and react offensive game which has
led him to his Hall-of-Fame career.
The 2013 season was a real let down.
Ray Allen decided to become a traitor and leave in the off season. Rondo went
down with an ACL injury and Pierce was left to carry the load. That load was
just too much for a thirty-five year old player in his fifteenth season. Pierce
put up some very gaudy numbers in 2013 though, having to do almost everything
for a now young Celtic squad. Once the season ended, everything was in doubt.
Pierce and KG were both almost traded at the deadline and it seemed like more
trade rumors were swirling. Then, Doc and Danny seemed to be uncertain about
each other, which led to the end of Doc’s tenure. Just days later, Pierce and
KG were dealt to Brooklyn for mainly draft picks and some garbage players. That
was it. The Paul Pierce era in Boston was officially over. Just like that.
Fifteen seasons wearing the Celtic green, and now he’ll be wearing the Brooklyn
black.
It was a sad day when I heard the
news of Pierce’s departure. Yes, tears started to fill the eyes. But it really
wasn’t a sad kind of tear. It was more of a retrospective thought in what I had
just witnessed my entire life tear. My entire life, all I have known is Paul
Pierce. He was the star of the Celtics the moment I started watching
basketball. Even though the team was never a real contender, for some reason I
loved them. Pierce to me, was just a likeable guy. He was our franchise player.
He was the truth. Pierce will leave the Celtics holding a various number of
records and a lot of gaudy numbers that will certainly make him a future
Hall-of-Famer. He is 2nd in Celtics history in points scored, 7th
in rebounding, 4th in assists, 1st in steals, 1st
in free throws made and 1st in three-pointers made. To be in the top
ten in all of those categories for the franchise with the most history is
really saying something about Pierce. He also has one Finals Championship, a
Finals MVP, and a ten time All-Star.
Also, just this past year, Pierce cracked the top twenty in career
points in NBA history. All of these accolades have come while Pierce was
leading the Boston Celtics.
Pierce may be one of the most
overlooked players that will make it to the Hall-of-Fame. He was one of the few
players though to play for a team for over fifteen seasons and put up the
constant stats that he has done. Doc Rivers said it best when he called Pierce
a professional scorer, because that is exactly what he is. Like I pointed out
before, Pierce is certainly not the most gifted athlete. He probably runs a 5.2
forty yard dash. He always seems to struggle getting up to the rim. He
certainly doesn’t jump out at you as a cut and defined athlete. But, Pierce
gets the job done by being a smart player and a really gifted scorer. His go-to
move is the isolation at the top of the key. From there, Pierce will decide
which elbow to attack on and go at it. He’ll either drive hard to the cup and
try to draw contact, give a head fake and pull up, or really do it up but
giving a head fake and a very pronounced step-back fade away which is Pierce’s
bread and butter clutch shot. You also can’t leave Pierce open from deep,
because given time he is automatic. Pierce may be the Celtics all-time best
scorer. Everyone in Celtics history, except Bird, ever had the offensive
talent to take over games the way Pierce did in his prime. When hot, he was
un-guardable. If
Pierce was hot, he would be hitting almost any shot he took and he would be able
to create offense for himself in any scenario. Pierce also can crash the glass and
stack up rebounds as well. Pierce is the all-around facilitator that all teams
need. He can play point guard when needed; he can be your post guy and also be
your go-to guy and make all the plays you need. I think Pierce is the most
underappreciated player in the game. The 2008 playoffs finally gave the world a
chance to see the real Paul Pierce. The hard-nosed defender and clutch player.
People claim Pierce isn’t great because he couldn’t get it done by himself and
needed KG and Allen. That is crazy because Pierce has almost NO help in his
early years. Larry Bird had Hall-of-Fame type guys in Dennis Johnson, Robert
Parrish and Kevin McHale. Bill Russell had Sam Jones and Bob Cousy. Before KG
and Allen, Pierce had Antoine Walker…. surely not a Hall-of-Famer. Pierce did
what he could on a bad team: lead them to four straight playoffs appearances,
three playoff series wins and lead them to an East Final. Then, Pierce got the
help he needed and won a Championship, led the team to two Finals, three
conference finals and eleven playoff series wins. All of that success in only
six years, I’d say that is very successful for such a short period of time
especially with guys like Kobe and LeBron playing in their primes. Pierce may
not be a ‘superstar’, but he certainly is a star and definitely a franchise
player. Through the entire up and downs of his career, Pierce was rewarded with
a Finals MVP and should have two if it weren’t for injuries and some bad luck.
People are reluctant to put Pierce in an all-time great category. I say fine.
You have your opinion, I’ll have mine. To me, Paul Pierce was the best player I
have ever seen play, granted I haven’t been around long. But, to me, he is the
best player because I fell in love with him. His style of play, his swagger,
his heart, and his masterful clutch game, how could you not fall in love with
him? He was our leader for fifteen years. Through thick and thin, he was loyal
to us and we were loyal to him. And maybe that is why he earns extra points as
an all-time great to me; he was loyal to everyone in the Celtics organization.
His career looks three times better because he was doing it on the same team. Yes,
he will now go on to end his career with the Nets. But no one will remember
Pierce as a Net; just like no one remembers Montana as a Chief, Favre as a
Viking, or Jordan as a Wizard. Paul Pierce will always be a Celtic. He will
always bleed green for the city that made him who he is. Pierce will always be my all-time favorite
player and that will never change. I witnessed my first basketball championship
as a fan with him as my leader. Now that he is on the Nets I am still rooting
for the Celtics and always will. But, I tip my cap to you Paul for all that you
did for us Celtics fans; staying loyal until the end. But, if you do win a ring
in Brooklyn Paul, I will clap for you, because you deserve it. You deserve more
than one ring for all the shit you have gone through. The losing, the stabbing,
the boos; all of that was no match for you Paul. You fought through all of the
hardships; stayed loyal to a franchise that loved you and needed you. You came
through when we need you most. You got repaid with a ring and a slot in history
as a legend with the greatest franchise in the NBA. No matter what happens Paul
Pierce is a Celtic. He is a Hall-of-Famer. He is a Celtic all-time great that
will have his number up in the rafters in the coming years. His loyalty and his
story will never be forgotten in Boston and it will always be the reason he is
the ultimate Celtic.
