When your team is facing adversity, you look to your captain to lead the way. Enter Paul Pierce; Celtic great, 13 year veteran, future hall-of-famer, NBA Champion and Finals MVP. This year saw him join John Havlicek and Larry Bird as the third player to reach 20 000 points solely as a Celtic. The Truth has been nothing short of astounding. His exceptional play this week was capped off when he was awarded the Eastern Conference Player of the week. He has been playing like a Captain this week starting last Wednesday with his game winning shot with .4 seconds remaining against the Knicks in New York.
The Celtics have been paid "a visit by the Blue Shield" as Doc describes his team's injured status. The team was missing 3 of its centers (that's 21 feet of centers), its MVP-candidate point guard and their backup point guard. Pierce has put this team on his shoulders with some help from the Big Three.
Pierce has answered the call and has done everything that the team has asked of him. This week has seen him play primarily as the point forward. Apart from his high volume of scoring, he has been distributing the ball as play maker, finding steals, blocking shots, drawing fouls and taking charges in playing his typical strong defense.
The Truth is in the middle of his latest groove that resembles his greatest hot streak of his career in the 2005-2006 season. In a five-week span, Pierce averaged 34 points per game and broke a Celtics record by scoring 30 points or more in 13 of 14 games.
After enduring the flu, which couldn't stop him from missing any game time, this week saw Pierce score 32 points along with 10 rebounds against the Knicks. He then recorded a double double of 15 points and 10 assists against the Hawks on Friday. The Truth backed it up with his 7th triple-double in his career against the Pacers. He had 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds as well as 4 steals.
What makes his latest feats even more remarkable is his story. Raised in Inglewood, California, Pierce grew up as a Lakers fan before being drafted out of Kansas by the Celtics in 1998. Pierce was a promising young talent who rose to basketball fame during the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals against New Jersey when he scored 19 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead a Celtics comeback from a 21 point deficit.
In September 2000, Pierce survived a violent nightclub stabbing. He was stabbed 11 times in the face, neck and back. It was so severe that wounds half an inch closer to his lung would have been fatal. "I think about it all the time", Pierce said in reminiscing the traumatic event. "You don't ever forget something like that. It changes you." Nevertheless, Pierce was the only Celtic to start all 82 games in the 2000-01 season.
Pierce has come a long way from the player that was labelled by ESPN columnist Bill Simmons as a "moody, selfish, me-first gunner with an attitude." Coach George Karl characterised Pierce as a selfish player in Team USA's failure at the 2002 World Championships. Pierce took extensive criticism that came to a climax after Game 6 of the 2005 playoffs against the Pacers. Pierce was ejected for a hard foul and taunted the Indiana crowd by swinging his jersey above his head. He then turned up to the press conference with his jaw bandaged. Boston Globe writer Bob Ryan called it as "a game that featured the single most unforgivable, untimely, stupid, and flat-out selfish on-court act in the history of the Celtics." Celtic Patriarch, Red Auerbach, called the captain's actions "embarrassing."
However, Pierce never backed away from his adversity. The Truth was motivated to improve both on and off the court. Pierce never asked to be traded. Pierce came out and said he wanted to retire a Celtic; a refreshing scene in a landscape that sees superstars seeking greener fields and leave their former teams high and dry.
Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge has always been a staunch supporter of Pierce and has refused to trade Pierce. "Paul was always a great player," Ainge says. "It's his spirit that changed. His enthusiasm is higher."
"Life has so many hurdles. Some of them I've hopped over, and some of them I've tripped over," Pierce acknowledged after being awarded Finals MVP of the 2008 Finals. "The key is to get back up and finish the race.'
What's important is, as captain, the Truth is trying his hardest to be the best teammate. "I always try to be the best overall player I can be." That goes for both on and off the court where he is very involved in the community. Pierce may be the most proactive player in his Truth On Health Campaign in educating youth on good health and an active lifestyle.
"Paul isn't perfect," Ainge said. "He's going to make mistakes." Pierce may not be perfect but in the hearts of many basketball fans, he's very close. And that's nothing but....
No comments:
Post a Comment