AFTERMATH: PAUL PIERCE - REDEMPTION and ASCENSION

Boston sports fans are the most knowledgeable. Baseball, football, hockey
or basketball...or maybe ESPECIALLY basketball, we know the game. We're a
fan base that cheers REBOUNDS and ASSISTS. We cheer STEALS and HUSTLE,
where other fans might cheer only baskets and dunks. Boston fans do not
suffer fools and frauds well. Boston fans are hard on their heros. We make
them live up to the hype. We make them earn their stripes. We trust our
eyes.

And from 2004 to 2007, was there anyone more frustrating in Celtics history
than Paul Pierce? Not one fan ever questions his ability. It was plain to
see. But we could questions where his head and heart were at. We could
wonder if all he cared about was numbers...specifically HIS numbers. There
were times where it sure looked like all Paul cared about was Paul.

It was more maddening when you put him side by side with his early running
mate, Antoine Walker. Walker had the heart and the desire. He wanted to be
the man and a leader. He willing took the heat after the game. The only
problem was that Walker's talents never did measure up to his heart and
desire. When he arrived in Boston, Pierce had all the talent. He was, and
still is, a very good shooter. An above average ball handler. Aggressive
and strong to the hoop. A great rebounder and a fundamentally sound game
shaped at Kansas by Roy Williams. Yet, emotionally, he seemed the opposite
of Antoine. He wanted to wear a "C", but didn't want to lead. He wanted
the glory but not the responsibility.

That's not something that sat well with many Celtic fans. We KNOW what
leadership is and Paul was not exercising any of it. Celtic fans expect
their stars, their team LEADERS, to subjugate their game for the good of the
team. Isn't this what Bill did when he looked around and saw Heinsohn and
Cousy and Sam Jones and John Havlicek? Isn't this what Dave Cowens and
Havlicek and Jojo White did collectively? Didn't Bird do this when he
looked around and saw McHale, Parish and DJ? I mean, if Larry Bird or Bill
Russell were selfish bastards, who know how many more points they would have
scored?

Or how many less Titles would the Celtics have won throughout the years?

This was awful for both the fans and Pierce, not doubt. We were watching as
a very good, potentially great player was flushing away wins for points.
Paul was languishing on teams that, while occassionally made it to the
playoffs, were NEVER a threat to win it all. He was watching his career
evaporate like the mirage that was any success the C's had in the
Pitino/Wallace years. It was only getting worse and I suspect Pierce knew
it.

What a shame too. In his first three seasons as a Celtic, many of us raved
about his ability. He had a very sweet jump shot. He came off picks
beautifully. He was strong and quick enough to be an elite small forward in
this league. And he was a finisher. Oh my was he a finisher. To this day,
I still can not get out of my head the incredibly violent dunk that
contributed to the end of Atlanta's Cal Bowdler NBA career and sent him
packing off to Europe. I'm sure where ever she was, his mom cried after
having to see that done to her baby.

The light at the end of the tunnel proved to be a train that took Walker out
of town. Danny Ainge was here and he was forced to make hard decisions. He
decided, rightly, to rebuild the future the the previous ownership had
mortgage. In other words, Pierce would have to endure more bad teams and
more losing. Danny decided, at least for the time being, that the team
would be put into Paul's hands.

That made Pierce's play the years prior to 2008 more puzzling to a lot of
us. He didn't turn his game over and lead like many of us thought (hoped?)
he would. He didn't trust his teammates. He didn't share the ball. It was
as if he was saying "If this is going to be my team, it's going to be on my
terms and my way". For the fans, the lowpoint of his Celtic career had to
be embarassing 2005 playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers. The less said about
that, the better.

The next two seasons, trade rumors swirled around Pierce. However, the
other teams GM's were less dealers than they were vultures, looking to pick
the last bit of worthy meat off the franchises bones. There were probably
three times when Pierce was close to being dealt, but for whatever reason,
Doc and Danny refused to pull the trigger. They looked at Pierce and saw
that he was still one of the better players in the league. By now, many
Celtics fans doubted he could be reclaimed. Paul Pierce would have his shot
at redemption.

By delivering Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to run alongside of him, Danny
left Paul with no excuses. Paul would either play with the two new All
Stars, or he would quickly become expendable. Paul Pierce embraced the
opportunity with relish.

Pierce always said he wanted to play with better players. Danny got him two
of the best in the league and Paul kept his word. He gave up shots, played
defense and was no longer a man apart on the roster. KG got the credit for
setting the tone, but sometimes it's the toughest thing to change. Paul
Pierce changed.

And by doing so, he played like the Celtic many of us compared him to: John
Havlicek. Pierce became a Hondo for the new age. A player who could do it
all who would do whatever his team needed on any given night. Needed
rebounding? He gave it. Needed ball movement? He passed it. Needed
points? Hey, this is Paul Pierce, he could always score.

The "better teammates" is when the beauty of his abilities came out. He was
not the one dimensional scorer he limited himself to being for the last
several years. He was not a "jack of all trades, master of none" either.
He was an all around basketball player and a pretty damned good one. Just
like Havlicek. He could it it all and do it all pretty damn well. Was he
the best at any one thing? No. But Pierceis almost as good as anyone else
at any particular thing. In a league with some 300 players, and can you
really think of 10 better shooters? Can you think of 5 better rebounders?
How many people at his position handle the ball better and make better
decision? 5?

The ultimate question is how many players at his position are better all
around than Pierce? The answer to that after the 2008 season? Maybe only
one: Lebron James.

If redemption is his passport, then the Championship is his visa to ascend
to the place reserved for his illustrious predecessors. It's not just that
Paul Pierce did those things. It's how he did it. He did it like a true
Celtic. He proved he wanted to be one of them. He committed himself to
playing for the team, to be about winning and not points, to be one of five,
not five in service to the glory of one.

He was given Lebron to defend and did it. When the Celtics needed it, he
ASKED to defend Kobe.

When it was there to be won, he did his part to bring home another Celtics
Championship. Winning it the way he did washes away all sins of the past.
His predecessors established this as the way, and the fans required it.
Paul Pierce has finally passed the test of being a true Celtic great. Some
time around 2017, when he has his number retired, I'm going to think back to
this season. 2007-2008, the season he Paul Pierce really became a Celtic.

On Jun 22, 4:57 pm, "Robert Chin" <bchin....TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote:

> The ultimate question is how many players at his position are better all
> around than Pierce?  The answer to that after the 2008 season?  Maybe only
> one:  Lebron James.

this one statement makes the rest of your words as fradulent as paul
pierce. i wouldnt even include him in the top ten players in the nba.