Paul Pierce is a very good basketball player. He's always willing to take the shot that will win or lose the game, and he understands basketball. He does many things well. But the thing he does best is imitate Willis Reed.
Watch. Every time the guy gets knocked to the floor, he looks as if he will require oxygen and an ambulance. And he gets knocked to the floor every other game.
You see him Tuesday night when Orlando's Dwight Howard nudged him to the court? Pierce stayed down and looked as if he was fighting to sustain consciousness. Be strong, Paul, be strong!
He was going to miss the rest of the game and the series, you could tell. How will Boston ever replace him? Is it last rights or last rites?
And then -- oh my gawd. He's moving. He's getting up. Ladies and gentlemen Paul Pierce is attempting to stand. This is beyond human. This is so far beyond human that Paul Pierce no longer is Paul Pierce. He is the son of Willis Reed.
He is standing. He is playing. It's as if he was never hurt.
Pierce's courage is unbelievable. We will never witness such a feat again -- until the next time Pierce gets nudged to the floor.
Didn't he pull that same stunt in the finals a couple years back? He actually was shown in a wheelchair, but before you knew it he was playing again, without as much as a limp.
Posted by: Durham's Finest | May 19, 2010 at 03:44 PM
Dwight Howard Hammered Pierce as opposed to "nudge" as you previously stated. Stay off the haterade. Celtics in 5....Out
Posted by: Tyler Anderson | May 19, 2010 at 04:04 PM
Tom, Your anti-Celtic bias is wearing thin. Howard tackled Pierce's head and then scratched at his eyes for good measure. Note the bleeding and swelling in the forehead for several minutes after the "nudge." Since you are now relegated to merely retelling obvious events (without any original observations and sloppily at that I might add) for the casual Observer reader, will you also "report on" Vince Carter's acting job in the fourth quarter (merely falling on the ground with no defender in sight and then dramatically writhing - was it the groin, wrist, knee, what)? Or the predictable whining by Howard when outplayed by defenders with half of his bench-pressing ability but a much higher basketball IQ? Even Jeff Van Gundy, an unbiased ESPN announcer, has called out Howard for his acting skills - oh yes, I guess your D-Wight is coming out with a movie soon. Boo hoo, Tom - Celtics in 4 over your Reddick-flopping Magic and then (recall 2008) in 6 or 7 over your showtime Lakers in finals.
Posted by: Real NBA fan | May 19, 2010 at 04:08 PM
Humorous, as intended
Posted by: David H | May 19, 2010 at 04:15 PM
BTW, was that Dwight Howard's humerus foul?
Posted by: David H | May 19, 2010 at 04:19 PM
Son of Willis Reed? More like son of a soccer player. Reed was legitimately injured when he came back for Game 7 in 1970. Putting Pierce in the same category as him seems pretty...well it seems pretty stupid.
Go Twins
Posted by: 704Champ | May 19, 2010 at 04:33 PM
Let's see, Willis Reed beat Wilt in that one, right?
Posted by: Bulkpro | May 19, 2010 at 05:33 PM
Hey, if I were Pierce, I would much rather be called "Son of Willis Reed" than "Enabler of Kobe" which pretty much defines Tom and his fellow "Damn-it, he was never convicted, so let's pretend that it never happened, all right?!" Laker fans. Cheers.
Posted by: Real NBA fan | May 19, 2010 at 06:00 PM
Man, please! Whoever doesn't agree with this article has never watched Paul Pierce play. I'm originally from Massachusetts, so, I was born a Celtics fan. And, I like Pierce and this Celtics team. But, you CANNOT deny the fact that Pierce is as good an actor as Denzel Washington. They even showed a slow-motion shot of him screaming in agony before he was even touched. He does it all the time. No one is hating. Just speaking the truth. The Oscar definitely goes to Paul Pierce.
Posted by: Freaky Ty | May 19, 2010 at 06:16 PM
Remember when Paul Pierce was stabbed 11 times in the face, back, and neck? Had a bottle smashed over his head. Needed lung surgery because of it? Managed to play all 82 games when the season started just a few weeks later? Remember all that?
Must have been faking it.
Posted by: Kyle T | May 19, 2010 at 07:45 PM
I can't even stop there. The funniest thing about this post by Tom is the act Vince Carter put on when he fell. On his own of course, managing to mangle his wrist. At least that's the way he made it look. Naturally he returned.
Sure, give the Oscar to Pierce. He'll put it next to his NBA Championship ring. But not too close, since they might just win another.
Posted by: Kyle T | May 19, 2010 at 07:49 PM
I don't have a problem with a player in a contact sport such as football doing the "Jim Brown" thing (always getting up slowly after being tackled so as to not let the other team ever know when they really DID hurt him). But Tom is 100% accurate in his comments about Pierce. He milks the attention. In fairness, Carter is a baby too, and I am a UNC grad and can say that.
Posted by: section309 | May 20, 2010 at 07:39 AM
did pierce play for duke?
Posted by: jay | May 20, 2010 at 07:11 PM
No he played for that little Tarhole cry baby Williams at Kansas.
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