Pierce is proving incomparable for Celtics
By JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star
BOSTON | Besides lacking this stage, the NBA finals, there has been one other factor preventing Paul Pierce from getting the recognition it’s obvious he now deserves.
His game doesn’t remind you of another all-time great player. You see, we knew Magic Johnson was a better big guard than Oscar Robertson. We could see that Michael Jordan easily eclipsed Jerry West and surpassed Julius Erving. It didn’t take long to figure out that Larry Bird had more game than John Havlicek.
And now, we compare Kevin Garnett to Tim Duncan and Kevin McHale. We rate Allen Iverson and Chris Paul in comparison to Isiah Thomas. We look at how Dwight Howard stacks up against Moses Malone. And, of course, Kobe is judged on the Jordan meter.
Paul Pierce? He’s nearly a total original. At halftime of Boston’s 108-102 game-two blowout-turned-squeaker over the Los Angeles Lakers, I asked Basketball Bob Ryan, perhaps the most knowledgeable NBA writer of the past 30 years, to compare Pierce’s game to any former player. Ryan, a columnist for the Boston Globe, couldn’t come up with a name.
Finally, midway through the third quarter, it occurred to me the only former pro who played Pierce’s game was journeyman Mark Aguirre, a four-time NBA All-Star. Aguirre (6 feet 6, 235 pounds) shared Pierce’s bulky, tight-end frame and inside-out game. During Aguirre’s first seven seasons in the league, he averaged around 24 points, with a career-high 29.5 average in his third season.
Aguirre was a force before he left Dallas. But saying Pierce is better than Mark Aguirre isn’t quite like saying Air Jordan was better than Doctor J.
Nope. In order to give Pierce his proper due, we’re going to have to acknowledge that he is setting a new standard. We’re going to have to acknowledge the originality of his game. He’s a little bit Charles Barkley, a teeny bit Bernard King, a dash of George Gervin, a sliver of Elgin Baylor and a small helping of Reggie Miller.
And Pierce is the primary reason the series-favored Lakers are in a frustrating 0-2 hole as the finals head toward Los Angeles.
No doubt, the one-sided officiating buried the Lakers in the first half. Kobe picked up two cheap fouls in the first quarter, and the Celtics marched to the free-throw line for 19 attempts in the first 24 minutes. The Lakers attempted just two freebies before the break.
The free-throw disparity widened in the third quarter, when the Celtics tacked on 10 points to their 12-point halftime advantage.
But this game turned on the emotion, energy and three-point shooting Pierce provided the Celtics. It was a replay of game one except there was no drama about Pierce’s injured knee. When he did leave the court for brief stretches — Pierce played 41 minutes with a sleeve on his sprained right knee — he left and returned under his own power.
He burned the Lakers with 28 points, nailing the four three-pointers he shot and handing out eight assists. He’s the unchallenged star of this series now. For the moment, he’s a bigger star than Kobe Bryant, who managed 30 points and eight assists despite visible frustration with the officiating.
If there was any doubt left about whom the leader of the Celtics is, game two gave us the smoking-gun evidence that it is clearly Pierce’s team. Watching 7-foot Kevin Garnett float around the perimeter and fire up 18-footers brought back memories of Ralph Sampson in his prime.
Would someone please inform KG that Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t have an NBA title for a very good reason? The Celtics could potentially sweep the Lakers if Garnett takes his lanky rear end down on the block and complements Pierce’s and Ray Allen’s perimeter shooting with some consistent low-post scoring.
To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.
