The Maturation of Paul Pierce

by Jeff Clark on May 31, 2008 8:57 PM EDT in Boston Celtics News & Links

Reason number 1 why I have a lot of hope for the Finals is Paul Pierce's development as a leader on this team. Consider this (via ESPN):

It was a night when the Celtics could have given up mentally after a highly questionable offensive foul call with 1:35 left in the third quarter. Referee Bennett Salvatore called Pierce for a charge as he drew contact from Richard Hamilton behind the 3-point line, while making the shot. Then on the next Detroit possession, Pierce fouled Tayshaun Prince, who made two free throws to give Detroit a 66-58 lead. These two huge plays added up to a six-point swing for the Pistons.
"I didn't let it frustrate me like I probably would in the past. I probably would have lost my poise, lost my cool, got a technical. But that would have been selfish of me," Pierce said.
Instead, he refocused. And when the Celtics used a 10-0 run to tie the game at 70 with 7:35 left in the game, the momentum was theirs.

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I agree. I thought the turning point was after the 4 point play was taken away. I was furious with the refs, but Paul and his team kept their cool, and just grinded it out. They showed tremendous poise in the face of adversity. Tremendous. I was thinking of ways to get a double technical on Rasheed so he would be gone for game 7 (have Big Baby throw a punch??) while cooler heads prevailed.

I was so proud to be a Celtic fan last night. What a great comeback win.

by footey on May 31, 2008 9:13 PM EDT reply actions

Congrats to Paul, he saved the Celtics bacon for the 2nd time in as many series’. Theres a reason he’s called “The Truth.” He’s going to go OFF in LA! ;D

by Bankshot on May 31, 2008 9:37 PM EDT reply actions

paul was the hero, had the poise and delivered after that ridiculous call. we have to really be suspicious of the refs- what with the noncall to give the lakers the win and the call against paul. stern- stop counting your money and get on the ref situation-you have a serious problem in the nba- the refs are more important than the players in the outcome of games.

by nazzbo on May 31, 2008 10:14 PM EDT reply actions

the ref situation would be helped a ton if you had a 4th ref in a booth with video access. I don’t think it could overturn in game fouls.. but stuff like who it went off of, shot clock violations, goal tends, in the circle, etc.

by cmoney on May 31, 2008 11:05 PM EDT reply actions

Paul Pierce has been and still is the best player the Celts have had since the Bird era. No one on the team can match his offensive skills, and only a few in the NBA can.. The man has a body of steel and always shows up for work. His defense has improved dramatically. He can also match KG’s excitement for the game.

by celtics2 on Jun 1, 2008 6:32 AM EDT reply actions