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CHILDHOOD LAKER FAN NOW FINDS HIMSELF IN CELTIC GREEN
The Sky's the Limit
 Boston's Paul Pierce leads all rookies in scoring with 17.6 ppg. |
After two weeks of NBA action, Pierce is leading all rookies in scoring (17.6 ppg), is third in rebounding (6.6 rpg) and fourth in assists (2.0 apg), and showing the nine teams that passed on him that those pundits may have known a thing or two. In a recent Q&A, Pierce discussed draft night and life in the NBA.
Q: Talk a little bit about draft night, what were your feelings right before the draft? Where did you think you were headed?
Pierce: I didn't have an idea and I was a little nervous, sort of sweating wondering where can I go, where I might be playing the rest of my years, or how long I'd be there. I was a little nervous. The night before the draft I didn't really get a lot of sleep, and I was anticipating that moment up until that day. It's something you wait for your whole life.
Q: How did you feel when you started to slip a little bit?
Pierce: I was wondering what was happening, I mean once it got passed that five spot I started saying O.K. this is the next team I'm going to go here. Then No. 7 comes and I'm going to go here, No. 8 and I'm like wondering what's going on because I know and realize that I didn't really work out for those other next five or 10 teams. So it was up in the air from there, and then when Boston took me it was sort of a surprise because I knew they were looking for a big man.
Q: Tell me how you used draft night as a motivational tool during the off season?
Pierce: Well anything I can get to use for motivation I always do it. I've done that since I started playing basketball and that was a great tool for me. The summer going into this season my workouts got a lot harder, everything just picked up. They got a lot harder because I knew I could be one of the best players in this class, and I knew I should have been picked a lot higher.
Q: Tell me about the first couple of days at Camp Pitino, your first taste of the NBA life? How was that?
Pierce: It was a lot of fun, he really pushed us. I got in a little early, got a chance to work out, get some workouts in the gym and the weight room It sort of prepared me for camp, but whatever you do over the summer or in the weight room is really hard to prepare you for one of Pitino's camps.
Q: How has the pro game been different then what you expected coming out after the college game?
Pierce: Well in the pro game it's competition every night. One night you can be guarding an all-star, and one night you guarding someone who's averaging 20, not an all-star, but he'll give you trouble so you can't relax. In college you know you have some games where you know your going to blow out the team and you kind of sit back, relax. In the NBA you have to be up for every game.
Q: Where you surprised by the speed or the size of the guys that you are going
Pierce: In the pro game everybody is big, everybody's fast, everybody can play. I think what separates people in the basketball pro game is their ability to know the game of basketball, it's more mental than physical.
Q: How would you describe your game?
Pierce: I'm sort of a smooth type of player, I don't really rush a lot. I like to let the game come to me and don't come out jacking up shots and trying to get points up on the board. I let the game come to me, and if it's not really a big offensive night, I want to do other things to help my team like rebound. I try to play a well rounded game.
Q: What makes you difficult to defend?
Pierce: I think I have a good ability to go to the basket and finish strong because of my height and my strength and my ability to knock down the open shot.
Q: Many rookies come into this league a little gun shy, how is it that you are so confident?
Pierce: I've always been a confident player. I feel that I can play with anybody, against anybody, anytime. Playing against the pro's I feel no different. They're a lot older and have been in the game, but I feel like I'm one of the better players when I'm stepping on the court.
Q: I know a lot of young guys lose their confidence. Is that how you keep your confidence, because you think you can play with these guys?
Pierce: I think so. Even if I'm not really shooting well in the first half, I just keep my head in the game because I know what kind of player I am. Once I get there and I'm confident and things are rolling, I know what kind of player I can be.
Q: When you isolate somebody out on the wing, what are you thinking about when you get that defender?
Pierce: I'm thinking about two points. I know I can score it, all I have to do is prepare myself mentally to take the foul and try to still finish it. I'm thinking about going to the hole every time if I get an isolation play.
Q: Is there like a weakness you look for in a guy or you look at his feet or you look to see which way he's leaning?
Pierce: Well I sort of let the defense make there mistakes, guys sort of play you sometimes, let you go left, some guys let you go right and then some guys play you straight up. I think I have a quick first step, that if I can get that one step on them then I can get by them.
Q: Which players on the Celtics have been helpful to you right now making this transition into the NBA?
Pierce: All of them have: Kenny Anderson, Antoine Walker, Ron Mercer. Popeye Jones really helps me a lot as far as the transition goes, coming into camp ready, telling me what to do on the court as well as off the court, smart decisions. A lot of guys have really been in my corner, so I really don't feel like a rookie when I'm out there. They all have treated me well since I've been here. They haven't had me carry the bags yet. It's a young team and everyone gets along.
Q: Talk about Kenny Anderson's game and what's it like playing with him.
Pierce: He's a terrific point guard. He really gets guys into the flow of the game and if you run the lanes and you come off the screens the right way he's going to get you the ball.
Q: What about Antoine Walker?
Pierce: I like to watch Antoine play. I look at him and I try to copy some of the moves he does out there because he's such an explosive power forward. He can take his man off the dribble and do a lot of things out there. He's very versatile for a power forward -- he can shoot the ball, bring it up, post up, he can do a lot of things.
Q: I heard you are a bit of a practical joker, you've been giving Antoine a hard time about this Cyber-Twon thing?
Pierce: (laughs) A little bit I think they kind of exaggerate some of those moves, even though he says those are real game footage. But I told him I can stop him anytime.
Q: How would somebody have to stop Paul Pierce?
Pierce: I don't want to give that away right now, it's still early.
Q: How do you keep the early praises you've been getting in check when your out there on the court?
Pierce: It's something I don't really think about. I've been playing the game of basketball for a number of years, and I just try to go out there and keep playing the game of basketball. It's a game I have a lot of fun with when I'm out on the court competing. I love to compete against the other teams and get a win. Those are things when I'm on the court I don't really think about.
Q: Who are the players you admired growing up? Who did you watch?
Pierce: I watched a lot of Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, those guys. I lived in Inglewood, California, and watched Magic run through the 80's with his championships so I really liked the way he did things. He was a big guard, very versatile, moved so well and he was a winner.
Q: How did you enjoy playing with Magic this summer, was that a dream come true for you?
Pierce: Oh definitely, I wish I could have been born a little bit earlier so I get to match up with him, but this summer he really showed me a lot of things. He'd take me to the hole and tell me some of the things I can do offensively and how to stop him defensively, and that's a hard thing to do. He's really great.
Q: Where you a Laker fan growing up?
Pierce: Definitely.
Q: So how does it feel playing for the Celtics now?
Pierce: It's a little different, I mean when the Celtics came to the Forum I routed against them. At the same time, I admired the players that played for the Celtics because they were great players. It wasn't that I hated the team, it's just that I didn't want them to beat the Lakers. They always had their good players, and Larry (Bird), (Kevin) McHale, (Robert) Parish, I always liked those guys.
Q: What are the personal things that would have to happen this year for you to consider it a success?
Pierce: My first thing is to win because once you win and you get on a winning team the individual things will come. I've always been taught that if you strive to be the best as a team, then the individual honors will come.
Q: I know you've only been in this league a couple of weeks now, but how far do you think this team can go this year?
Pierce: I think the sky's the limit. We have a nice young team with a blend of veterans who know the game, and with that mix I think we can go a long way. The standings now are wide open, so nobody is really penciled in for the Finals. Especially in the East, things can go either way.
Q: So you pretty much have the Celtics contending for a title in the next couple of years if not this year?
Pierce: Definitely I can see that in the near future.
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Paul Pierce Q&A with Celtics Insider
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