“I’m just soaking it all in,” he said before the Clippers worked out at Northeastern University. “It’s going to be a pretty emotional day [Sunday]. I’m just going to enjoy it. I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces. I can’t even picture how it’s going to be. I’m not sure what kind of emotion is going to come out, a smile, a tear, or what.”
[…] “There’s not a lot of franchises around the NBA that are quite like the Boston Celtics,” Pierce said. “You talk about history. You talk about tradition. You talk about winning. You talk about Boston. You talk Lakers. You talk about Chicago, but just wanting to be part of this history was something that meant a lot to me. You can’t say that about anywhere else. For me to be a part of this history. The Boston Celtics were retired numbers, championship banners. I wanted to be part of that. When I got here, I understood the history. I talked to the former players. I talked to Red Auerbach. I talked with Bill Russell. I want to be mentioned with those guys. I wouldn’t want to win nowhere else, that’s the reason for me staying.”
Globe: Paul Pierce returns to Boston to say goodbye
So… this is some day, huh?
Paul Pierce is back for one last run on the parquet as the lead up to what I’m told is a pretty important football game later on today.
We know Paul is going to be emotional about today. He’s already done his Boston victory-lap, which he documented on his Instagram account and he’s going to step onto the floor this afternoon to a deafening, long-lasting standing ovation.
We’ll get emotional too… or at least I will. And so will the Celtics players.
“That’s obviously big,” said Isaiah Thomas. “It’s going to be probably emotional for him. It’s going to be nice.
“I’m excited I get to be a part of it. I mean, I got to be a part of Kobe (Bryant)’s last All-Star Game, and to get to be a part of Paul Pierce’s last game in the Garden, that’s a lot.”
[…] “One day hopefully I can pick his ear about some things,” Thomas said. “I definitely want to. He’s seen it all, the ups and downs of this organization. I would definitely like to pick his brain if I can.”
Well, that day came quickly for Isaiah Thomas because after that interview yesterday, this happened…
[protected-iframe id=”9082a177dcb365d3d343ccfaa9589779-114320562-1227608″ info=”//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js” class=”instagram-media”]That must have been some night for Isaiah.
And now imagine being a Celtic… standing their in that building with all those banners… with all that history staring you in the face every night… and then watching a guy get treated like a God for what he did in the same uniform you’re wearing.
Imagine what’ll be going through Isaiah’s mind when he sees how the fans adore Pierce four years after he left.
When we talk about Boston being a different place… when we talk about the Celtics culture and how it inspires players…that’s what we’re talking about. It’s moments like this, when you, as a player, see a legend getting his due… knowing he’s forever going to get this level of adoration no matter when he steps into the building.
I can only imagine Isaiah just past 2pm today… looking around as the crowd pours its heart out for Pierce… saying to himself “this is all going to be for me someday.”
That’s powerful stuff.
So today we’ll say thanks one more time to a Celtics legend on his way out the door… while maybe inspiring the next one to lead the Celtics to the promised land.
Related links:
MassLive: Pierce’s greatest moments in Boston | Rivers reflects on Pierce’s rocky transition | Pierce: Thomas “easily the best point guard in the Eastern Conference” | Pierce’s “goodbye to the game”
CSNNE: One last go-round at the Garden for Pierce
ESPN Boston: Pierce braces for emotional last game at TD Garden
WEEI: Boston says farwell to Paul Pierce, the best pure scorer in Celtics history
Page 2: Jaylen Brown wants to be like Paul Pierce
“I don’t think anybody is better than Paul Pierce at getting to his sweet spots,” Brown said Friday night after scoring 12 points in a 113-107 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers. “Paul Pierce has sweet spots, and everybody knows it. If he gets there, you can’t stop him getting there, and if he gets there, it’s on him if he misses it or not, because he’s shot that shot so many times, he feels so comfortable. That’s one thing I’ve worked on, just trying to find sweet spots on the floor and trying to master it the way Paul Pierce and some of the greats do.”
MassLive: Jaylen Brown wants to find sweet spots like Pierce did
All I can say to that is… good luck, kid.
The key to Pierce getting to those sweet spots was all upstairs… his game was one big set up for the next shot he wanted to take.
A few years ago, I wrote an appreciation of Paul Pierce’s game that captures what Brown is striving to become.
Pierce’s attacks of the basket are less “drives” and more “casual strolls.” So after he gets past that first defender—which he does, always—it seems certain that he’ll be stopped by the next. Same thing with the last man he beats, who’s lining up a sure block against the old-looking guy moving at three-quarter speed towards the hoop. We all know how this ends, by now.
Pierce isn’t as fast as the players defending him, for the most part. He can’t out-jump many either. This is what makes watching him beat those defenders so consistently, persistently fun: to see the ways he makes all that irrelevant, to watch how he’ll make them lean, or lurch, or jump, or sit flat-footed. That and watching him riffle through his mental Rolodex of moves—it would be a Rolodex; this is not a digital archive—for the next one.
And so every Paul Pierce game is, in some way, an exercise in counter-punching for the last one, even for the last move. Has he hit a few shots in his man’s face? Then comes Pierce-patented move number one: up-fake, absorb contact, take a jumper. Has Pierce gotten to the rim a few too many times? Then get ready for Pierce-patented the second: The step-back elbow jumper. Pierce passes wonderfully well, and moves without the ball as well as he ever has, but line up his every possession-with-intent across the course of a game and a protean narrative becomes clear. He is keeping track of everything.
Brown is more athletic now than Pierce ever hoped to be, but just relying on athleticism to get you baskets is a fool’s errand. It’s the equivalent of a 100+mph fastball that doesn’t move. Eventually, people will figure you out and stop you.
There are really two big keys to offensive success (beyond the obvious, like actually being able to hit shots): The ability to think a few moves ahead and set up the defense to overreact to your past moves rather than anticipate your next one… and the ability to change speeds effectively.
If you can do those two things in the NBA, you’ll be one hell of an offensive player. If you can go from jog to sprint in a blink (Thomas does it very well, Westbrook is a great example of it) you can get open shots. If you can catch defenders leaning in anticipation of a move, or be aware of how they’re playing the pick-and-roll and learn when to slip or reject screens, you can get open shots. From there, it’s just a matter of finishing the play.
Brown’s got a long path ahead of him, but he’s smart kid. If he’s really studying Pierce, he’ll be just fine.
And Finally…
Manu Ginobili said he knew how important Gregg Popovich was to the San Antonio Spurs even before the coach set the NBA record for most wins with a single franchise.
Popovich earned his 1,128th victory Saturday night, leading the Spurs to a 121-97 victory over the Denver Nuggets, passing former Utah coach Jerry Sloan for the top spot.
“The record is just a number,” Ginobili said. “He didn’t need that record to define what he means for this franchise, the NBA, in the last 20 years. The fact that he’s been the coach of the team for so many years is already an impressive accomplishment.
To me, he’s right there with Red as the best coach ever in the NBA. You can have Phil Jackson… I’ll take Pop all day.
The rest of the links
MassLive: Fultz & Ball face off: What the Celtics can take from top 2017 prospects
Globe: Chauncey Billups wishes Celtics were more patient with him
Herald: Uniqueness of Isaiah Thomas scores high with Tommy Heinsohn
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