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December 13, 2006
Zac Hunter chips in his two cents while bloggin' from Boston.We've got a nice big break for Bill Self and the boys to get some extended practicing before the next 'Hawks game. So I'm here to spread a little love for Kansas' forgotten warrior. I'm talking about the best Kansas basketball player since Danny Manning. I'm talking about an all-world superstar wasting away in the basketball wasteland of young, unrefined potential. On a team that is one notch above the the New York Knicks, Jay Leno monologue regularsI'm talking about [Paul Pierce]1, the only shining star for the once-proud Boston Celtics. The same kid who poured in 15 straight points against Oklahoma on senior day in Allen Fieldhouse in 1998. Much to the dismay of 16,300 people chanting "one more year," Pierce never made it to his senior day. Later that year he fell to No. 10 in the NBA Draft, behind busts like Michael Olowokandi and Robert Traylor. In a strange twist of fate, Olowokandi is currently collecting dust on the Celtics bench.Pierce's No. 34 jersey hangs in the rafters at the Fieldhouse, but I don't think he gets the same credit Kansas' latest hero, Kirk Hinrich, gets. It's certainly understandable. Hinrich played at KU more recently. And he led Kansas to two Final Fours while Pierce was part of the Jayhawks' two biggest heartbreaks - a 1997 loss to Arizona and then the same in 1998 to Rhode Island.I was in the stands in Oklahoma City for the Rhode Island upset. That was the last game I saw Pierce play until we were reunited on the parquet floor of the new Garden. After going to a couple Celtics games in the last month I've come to appreciate Pierce's game. And he should start to appreciate me because when I'm in the stands he goes off for 30 or more. I can't wait to go back. It doesn't hurt that I now have a hook-up at the new Garden. My buddy and I pick up a couple of rafter seats and we end up in either a luxury suite or 15 rows off the floor. Our goal by the end of the season is to sit courtside. I'll keep you updated on how that works out.Watching Pierce up close blew me away. He always draws the opponent's best defender, but it doesn't faze him. He brings it regardless of the opponent. And he's every bit as silky smooth as he was in the crimson and blue. He is the epitome of a scorer. And he makes it look easy. I watched him drop 36 at home in a loss to Phoenix last Friday. He took his show on the road to New Jersey the next night. And on a night where his shots weren't falling like usual, he buried a guarded 20-footer at the buzzer for the win.Pierce has just been on a bad team so long that it's easy to forget how great he actually is. His only taste of postseason success came in 2002 when he led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics have made the playoffs a few times since then, but they really had no shot at the title. Pierce is stuck in a perpetual rebuilding project with no end in sight.While the Celtics might not be contenders, Pierce still walks tall as one of the best players in the NBA. Next time you see a Celtics game on television, drop the remote and watch him play. It's easy to forget what we saw on a day-to-day basis while Pierce was a Jayhawk. But it's even easier to get reacquainted. [1]: http://www.nba.com/playerfile/paul_pierce/index.html
Comments
fabolous_bg (anonymous) says...
Pierce is the man...I just wish I could watch him play more. Since the C's are so bad, they are never put on tv. He deserves any pub he gets. He is by far one of the top 10 players in the league right now. Great piece...
December 13, 2006 at 11:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cwrist (Chris Wristen) says...
Great blog Hunter. Outside of SportsCenter highlights, I never get to see Pierce play anymore. Of course, part of that probably has to do with the general sense of boredom that I feel when most NBA games are on the tube. If there's a college option instead - or a Rocky IV rerun - I'll usually take the latter. Then again, that probably sums up how unappreciated Pierce is to everybody outside of Boston. I've always hoped the Celts would either trade him to a contender or build him a team with winners. Walker was just a chucker but no real help it seemed. Pierce seems to be surrounded by wannabes or has-beens instead of three or four more guys that can help that team be a contender.
Great read ... and good luck with the courside seats!
December 13, 2006 at 2:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zdh1145 (anonymous) says...
Wristen,
It's all about watching games live. I saw Amare Staudemire throw down a dunk that would have KU fans chirping for weeks if he played for the 'Hawks. But it was just a normal play in the NBA.
I didn't appreciate the NBA until I started going to Celts games. You see things that never happen in the college game.
On a side note, Boston is taking on Philly tonight. I'm hoping Iverson will be wearing green sometime soon.
December 13, 2006 at 5:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cwrist (Chris Wristen) says...
AI would finally give Pierce a decent sidekick. From a KU fan standpoint, I liked the brief Pierce-Raef reunion, but Raef has been a pretty average pro.
December 13, 2006 at 7:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
myhawkisyourhawk (anonymous) says...
What's parquet?
December 13, 2006 at 8:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Teapot9 (anonymous) says...
it was the type of floor the Garden had before the Fleet Center
the square pieces of wood with different patterns very noticeable
December 14, 2006 at 12:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )