Paul Pierce Is Making This Look Easy

That our captain indeed.

I always knew Paul Pierce was a great player…right from the biginnings of his career, but he never made me smile until the last three years. In fact I was down on him when he struggled mightily against Doc before Garnett and Allen. But once we had the three, and they all asserted themselves while, at the same time, submerging themselves for the sake of the team, Pierce found his fit. Then came Shaq and everyone smiles. I have loved every Celtics team, but this one is far and away the most fun. Paul Pierce, the quiet leader, the Captain.

As he’s matured, he’s learned to do whatever it takes to help the team. He’s as smart and as gritty of a player as there is in the NBA today. His game has become pure efficiency, and he can help his team in any manner of ways.

Need passing, he can do that, rebounds? Yep, scoring? He’s shooting some of the best %s of his career. The guy can do it all, and no matter what this team needs, no matter what injuries they incur, they can handle them.

Paul Pierce, the swiss army knife of the NBA.

and has become better. His game was never above the rim (which will likely prolong his career) and he had to develop the slick up-fakes and cross overs that are now his bread and butter. The weakest part of his game has always been his ball handling. How many times have we gone OH NO!! when Paul would boot a dribble out of bounds. Now that his team has evolved into much more of a share the ball group, he has had to become more aware of his teammates offensively. I think being a step slower actually has helped him. I’ve no idea if his turnover rate has fallen but it sure feels that way. I haven’t even mentioned what a great defensive player he has become. You don’t often see a player improve defensively in the latter part of their career.

Now? Bad Paul doesn’t show himself once every two weeks.

(Forcing things and then having them blow up in his face)…

Glad to see he’s matured and grown

I’ve watched Mr. Pierce from the start of his career. One thing about watching this team over the last 50 years, is I’ve gotten involved with certain people’s careers, and their ups and downs. When I met Havlicek at the Natick Stop & Shop when he was this gawky, shy kid, he was my hero at the time. And he was the first in a long line of humans I learned to appreciate and respect throughout the years. I remember meeting another tall scrawny kid at the Tweeter in Natick – Danny Ainge.

But Paul Pierce – in the beginning, he was just flashy. He scored, but he pouted. The Wiggler was also not a good influence on him. Jim O’Brien got to him. He started to understand that Cetlcis basketball was the opposite of showtime Lakers, who he grew up watching. The individual game was the rage, and Sternum was marketing it.

And then came Doc. Doc and Danny were preaching this team thing, and they probably sat Paul down and had him watch those early Jordan vs. the Celtics games, where MJ would put up 60 points – and lose. Until, Michael finally got it, and his TEAM beat everyone else. That is when Paul got it. And only then, was he ready to bring those other 2 guys in. And now, he is doing it all. It is so beautiful to watch him, in almost slow motion, make the whole other team look ridiculous. He is so cerebral in how he approaches each possession.

I am really enjoying this year. With all the pain and suffering around us, this team brings such a welcome escape from the reality of the US economy.

There are many definitions of a Celtic player. Some include Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Tommy Heinsohn, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens and Others (Can’t forget Larry). Paul Pierce is now included in this group.

As a young player, the one good thing Jim O’Brien did was to tell him not to defer to Antoine and to be more aggressive. From that point he started to develop his own game. As he got better defenses were designed to stop him. As each new thing was thrown at him he overcame it. Then the next stopper and the next. Now there are no more stoppers.

He went thru some tough times because we was so competetive and passionate about the game. His “arguements” with Doc are well documented, but between Doc, Paul, Danny and probably a bit of Wyc and Pags this was all overcome and we saw Pierce develop as a person. All this was done behind the scenes. Some stuff came out in public because Paul was often very candid when interviewed. Though he thought about asking to be traded at one point, he never did ask and certainly never said it publicly. He did say publicly that he “thought” about it and that was translated by the media to mean that he asked to be traded. What he was asking for all the time was for ownership to do something about improving the team. I don’t think he quite understood how hard that was to do.

Once he became established with Doc he did become more of the “team player”. As Al Jeff and that group developed he tried to set them up, but it came to the point where he had to do it alone.

Pierce was ecstatic when we didn’t get the number 1 pick that year because he knew what that meant. When we got Ray Allen on draft nite you could almost see the sky light up with Pierce’s smile.

I remember the “Press Conference” when Danny finally got KG to come here. Ray was here because he was not introduced to the media yet and Paul flew in from CA. KG dominated the conference. Pierce was very quiet, but for the whole time he just sat there with a huge smile on his face. He finally got what he had wanted, a championship caliber team worthy of the Celtic name.

There are many leaders on the Celtics. It all starts with Doc. KG brought intensity, Ray brought wisdom, Rondo is the floor leader, Shaq brought laughs that loosen up the team. But all acknowledge that Pierce IS the CAPTAIN. He leads quietly and by example.
But what I see lately, as the C’s struggle thru this current period, is a look on Paul’s face that says “we are not going to lose this game”. I might not be the one to hit the big shot or make the big pass, but I am going to do everything I can to win this game.

I am so happy to see Paul finally get the recognition he deserves, but I am more happy for Paul Pierce, the person.

wow. Thanks y’all

With all this cb cred, maybe FlCeltsFan will want to watch a game with me.