FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Well, my first three editions of "The View from 10,000 Lakes" didn't really get the views or "publicity" that I would have liked, so if you have an opinion on whether I should keep doing them, could you PLEASE FanMail me? Thanks. Anyway, enjoy, thanks for reading, and please tell me what you think.

Many of you probably watched game 7 of the Cavaliers-Celtics series, and it was a great game. The star of the winning team was Paul Pierce, the Celtics star swingman. He had a great game, and was able to overshadow LeBron James and Kevin Garnett, among others. Pierce has had a great year altogether, and it begs a question that I don't think I'm the only one with an opinion on. Did people forget that Paul Pierce is a really good player? Not a decent sidekick or an alright shooter, but, like, a really good player? Yeah.

Throughout most of his career, Pierce was never the "superstar". When the Celtics were playing good, he got some attention. He was an All-Star, and people began to recognize him as a legitimate player. Over time, he began to develope a reputation, both good and bad. The good was that he could in fact compete at an extremely high level, but the downside was he always seemed to be hurt, or underperforming, or whatever. There was always a bad part.

Finally, last year, with the Celtics having their downright awful season. The highlight was Gerald Green in the Dunk Contest, and he didn't even have one of the best dunks, although that is a whole different story, lol. Pierce began talking about a trade, because he wanted to win. But most people didn't view him the same as say, Jason Kidd or Kevin Garnett. He was a good player who could do enough, but just not on the level of some guys.

Even throughout the year, Pierce was overshadowed by Kevin Garnett. KG got the MVP talk, KG got the Defensive Player of the Year award (And rightfully so), KG got the accolades, KG got the recognition, KG got this., KG got that. People knew the Celtics were a great team, but when you thought of the Celtics turnaround, most thought about Garnett, then Pierce and Allen, right? Pierce was having a great season, and he was probably just as responsible for the turnaround as Garnett.

Then, the playoffs come around, and it all came down to a game seven in Boston in the Celtics-Cavaliers series. Pierce was ready for the occasion, as if he said 'I've waited too long for this moment to slip by me, and I'm going to do something about it'. Maybe he did say that, we will never know. Anyway, Pierce definitely came up to the occasion. He dropped 41 points to go with four rebounds, five assists, and he even manged to lead the Celtics in steals.

However, the stat that I can look at the most is that he played 44 minutes. Well, LeBron played 47, so who cares? It shows that Pierce is a straight-up gamer (Haha), and that he has the will to win. None of this was more evident when there was the jump ball late in the fourth quarter. The ball came, and it was supposed to be LeBron's ball. Well, everyone forgot to inform "The Truth", as he simply out-hustled LeBron. He out-muscled him, then dove on the ground for the ball, and got it. The free throw might have just been karma from that effort, and it was a tremendous effort. Pierce literaly went in it for the whole team, and got the Celtics into the Eastern Conference Finals. Granted, that was not the only play that mattered, but it sure did help.

Paul Pierce is a great player, as much as many people have forgotten, and his legacy is growing as you read this. In an unrelated side note, the NBA Draft Lottery is going on tonight and, well, how about the Timberwolves win it and get Michael Beasley/Derrick Rose. Hey, how about it McHale?