Pierce on OnHoops

[joshfarber@home.com]

Here is an article on Paul Pierce on Onhoops.com

The link is
http://www.onhoops.com/content/articles/Jan1999/pierceup.html if the
article doesn't post very good.

					Josh F



                                              The Future 
                                                      
                   January 31, 1999, Jordan.

                        Chuck's Note: What is Rick Pitino telling his
players in Camp?
                        Championship. Seriously... 


                   I have seen the future, and his name is Paul Pierce.

                   Yes, it's preseason. Yes, the Raptors suck. There is
no denying, however, that Paul Pierce
                   has all kinds of skills and, more than that, as Tommy
Heinsohn pointed out the other night, a
                   sense for the game, the whole game. While it is
certainly a bit early to be making any
                   predictions, Pierce will likely have all 9 GMs who
passed on him shaking their heads in
                   regret. I have not yet seen the competition, other
than Vince Carter, but it says here that
                   Pierce wins Rookie of the Year.

                   Why, you may ask, am I so high on him on the basis of
2 meaningless exhibition games
                   against one of the worst teams in the league? Fair
question. Well, for starters, let's look at
                   his line from last night. 21 points (game high) in 37
minutes on 8 of 15 shooting, including 4
                   of 5 from beyond the arc and 1 of 1 from the line, 12
boards (game high), 3 offensive, 5
                   steals, 3 fouls, 1 assist, and those are just the
stats. Defensively, beyond the 5 steals, he is
                   tough and he hustles. He is a pretty big dude too,
and he will likely fill out a la Glen Rice.
                   Come to think of it, Pierce reminds me more of Rice
than anyone else, with his long
                   distance shooting and ability to drive, but Pierce
appears to be tougher inside than Rice, a
                   better finisher on the break, more acrobatic, and
better defensively.

                   He also plays with a ton of poise. He has none of the
tentativeness that most rookies show,
                   even those who turn to be as good as Mercer. Mercer
is quoted in the Boston Globe today
                   as stating that Pierce is way ahead of where he was
at this time last year, and that certainly
                   appears to be the case. It may be because Pierce is
from the West Side of L.A., and,
                   apparently, he has been playing with and against
Magic and that fast crowd for years. If
                   you've played a lot against and been personally
coached by one of the greatest players in
                   NBA history, you're probably a little less likely to
be intimidated merely by the prospect of
                   playing in the pros. (Incidentally, Pierce claims
that Magic is still tough to cover, despite his
                   age.)

                   Another observation: Unlike Walker, Pierce doesn't
force his game. He plays within the
                   flow offensively and capitalizes upon the
opportunities presented within that flow. He is a
                   very heady player, and he is quickly developing a
reputation as a "good kid"/solid citizen
                   type with a good head on his shoulders. One more
thing: With his deadly shooting, Piece
                   can definitely play some 2, and with his size and
inside/outside game, he will be a handful
                   for most guards in the league.

                   Pitino has stated that he will not trade Pierce.
While Rick has been known to change his
                   mind respecting such pledges, I very much doubt that
he will on this one. We are talking
                   about a potential first tier All Star here in the not
too distant future and an immediate
                   contributor now. At this point, there is no
overstating Pierce's upside potential. He could
                   turn out to be one of the truly great players, a real
superstar (as overused as that term is).
                   Rick is far too smart not to realize what he has
here.

                   With the vast array of offensive weapons that the
Celts now have and a healthy Kenny
                   Anderson distributing the ball, they are going to
score a lot of points this year. In addition,
                   with their youth and Pitino coaching, they will
continue to be terrors defensively. Teams will
                   hate to play them, if only because they will make the
opposition work so hard. If they stay
                   healthy, this very young but immensely talented Celts
squad is going to make a serious run
                   at the playoffs this year, and they are going to be
real contenders sooner than people think.

                        - Jordan

                                                                    
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