The Truth About Pierce

 

By Redsarmy.com com

Columnist John Karalis

2/18/06

 

The rafters at the Garden have looked the same for a while now.  But we all know that things will change at some point.  Who knows when we’ll hang banner 17 up there, but there is one change I can guarantee.

 

The number 34 will be raised to the rafters. 

 

Paul Pierce has had the misfortune of playing for the Celtics during a low point in the cycle of basketball life.  This is his 8th season with the C’s, and he’s playing for his fourth head coach and 3rd GM.  He joined the team in the Rick Pitino era, which followed the ML Carr era and is chock full of memories C’s fans have been trying to repress for years (remember renouncing the rights to David Wesley, Rick Fox and 7 others to sign Travis Knight?).  Pierce is the only player left from the Celtics team of three years ago. 

 

Now, the Celtics are in a position where being mediocre would be a step up, and many in the fan base we call Red’s Army would like to see him join those teammates from three years ago.  “We’ve gone nowhere with him, so we might as well get rid of him,” they say.  But to say that is tantamount to blaming Pierce for the folly of personnel blunders that have plagued his stellar career.  Pierce didn’t trade Chauncey Billups or Joe Johnson.  Paul didn’t say “thanks, but no thanks” to Ben Wallace.  Paul didn’t trade away the first pick in the 1999 draft (Shawn Marion anyone?).

 

No, the only thing Paul Pierce has done for the Celtics is show up and play 70+ games in all but his rookie year.  In the 6 seasons since he was nearly stabbed to death, he’s missed 5 games.  That’s right.  The only reason he lived that night is because it happened 50 yards from an emergency room, and he didn’t miss a game that next year, or the year after that.  This year, he’s having his best season yet.  He’s shooting a higher percentage than ever, he’s never scored more per game, he’s a fraction off a career high rebounding pace, and he’s half an assist off his career best. 

 

But the vocal masses will say this is the time to trade him, because his value is high.  Here’s a newsflash… his value was always high.  And if you’re going to start trading guys because their value is high, then LeBron’s value is pretty high too.  So is Kobe’s and Dwayne Wade’s. 

 

Speaking of Mr. 81 points in a game this year, a closer inspection of the numbers yields and interesting comparison.  And before we get to them, can you tell me the ONE difference between Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant on the court?

 

OK, let’s look at the numbers first:

 

 

 

Paul Pierce

Kobe Bryant

FG %

47.6

44.3

3pt FG %

35.9

33.7

FT %

77.7

83.8

Rebounds

7.1

5.4

Assists

4.5

4.4

Steals

1.5

1.7

Blocks

.40

.44

 

 

There are two statistics in which Kobe has any real advantage over Pierce.  He’s 6% better from the line, which is great.  But this is where Kobe’s got Paul:

 

 

Paul Pierce

Kobe Bryant

Shots Per Game

18.33

26.88

 

 

Kobe is taking 8.5 shots per game more than Paul.  By the time this season is over, Kobe will have taken enough shots to last Pierce into December of NEXT season.  And he’s not even shooting as well as Pierce.  If Paul took 8.5 shots more per game, he’d join that “elite” club of guys who are averaging more than 30. 

 

Paul Pierce won’t be around forever, but he should forever be remembered as a Celtics.  He should be the rare exception to today’s rule of running off to the highest bidder or demanding a trade at the slightest whiff of a struggle.  Pierce is a franchise player that is the foundation of a championship formula.  If there is any one Celtic who has done it right over the past 8 years, it’s been #34, which is why that number is going up into the rafters.

 

And that’s The Truth.