A bostonherald.com article from cecil.wright@justice.gc.ca

[<cecil.wright@JUSTICE.GC.CA>]

You have been sent this message from cecil.wright@justice.gc.ca as a
courtesy of bostonherald.com (http://www.bostonherald.com).

Comments:
I don't often agree with Callahan on everything but he has a point in
this article.

To view the entire article, go to
http://www.bostonherald.com/sport/sports_columnists/gcal04302002.htm

____________________________________________________________

Pierce premature in demanding respect

by Gerry Callahan
Tuesday, April 30, 2002

<!CAT-SCOL!>

The great ones always believe they are 10 feet tall and bulletproof, that
the next shot is going in and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it,
that the entire sports world revolves around them and the rest of us are
mere spectators.
<!ENDSUMM!>

They can't help themselves. They are blessed with a level of confidence
that borders on arrogance, a sense of self-assurance that can easily be
confused with insolence. The great ones take the court without fear in
their hearts or doubts in their heads, and there is only one thing they
enjoy more than winning: watching you lose.

The team is important to them, but only as the means to compete on the
highest level and force their will on a helpless adversary. Larry Bird
once expressed envy of professional tennis players because they relied on
no one but themselves. What could be better? Just you against him, one on
one, best man wins. Bird relished the thought. He was pretty sure he
could glare his opponent into a few double faults.

On the basketball court, Bird demanded the ball in the final minute of
the big games, and his coaches and teammates generally obliged. Bird
earned such deference by winning three NBA titles, three MVP awards and
24 playoff series. Paul Pierce wants the same kind of respect from his
coach and his teammates, and some day he will no doubt get it.

But first thing's first, young Mr. Truth. How about you win one playoff
series before telling Jim O'Brien how to do his job?

Paul Pierce has been magnificent this season and in this series, but it
seems his first trip to the NBA playoffs has left him slightly confused.
He wants everyone to know that he belongs on the big postseason stage,
but he is not content to let his brilliant play do the talking. He has to
pound his chest and announce his arrival at the top of his lungs.

According to Philadelphia forward Corie Blount, Pierce was taunting the
Sixers with shouts of ``Sweep! Sweep!'' during the final minutes of
Sunday's Game 3. Sweep? This was in Philly. In the first round. Against
the defending Eastern Conference champs. If there is a fine line between
good-natured trash-talking and taunting, Pierce didn't step over it. He
cleared it like Carl Bleeping Lewis. Maybe he saw what happened to Jersey
superpunk Kenyon Martin and is hoping for a Sports Illustrated cover of
his own.

There was no sweep, and Pierce, for one, thought he knew why. His
teammates just didn't get him the ball enough. With 33.8 seconds left and
the Celts trailing by a point, O'Brien had the gall to call a play for
someone other than Pierce, who looked noticeably perturbed with the
decision as he left the huddle. If the Philly coaches were trying to
guess who was going to get the ball for the Celts, Pierce gave them a
pretty good hint. Antoine Walker, a co-captain and six-year veteran who
had hit seven straight 3-pointers earlier in the game, missed a 3.
Pierce, who drew double coverage much of the game, threw his gum to the
floor in disgust and shouted, ``That's (expletive)!''

The Celtics had one more chance to tie the game, but Pierce, hoping to
draw a foul, heaved up an off-balance 3-pointer in the final seconds and
missed. As he walked to the team bus after the game, Pierce told the
Herald's Steve Bulpett, ``Yeah, I'm pissed off. I wanted the opportunity
to help carry my team over the top. When you don't get the call, it's
frustrating, especially for me since I've done it for this team so many
times.''

In fairness to Pierce, it's hard to blame him for holding such a lofty
opinion of himself after all he's been through. He may not be
bulletproof, but there is medical evidence that he is indeed knifeproof.
He came literally within an inch of his life only a year and a half ago,
and now he is inexorably playing his way toward the rafters and that
elite class of Celtics legends. If not for all those neat flagrant fouls
by Kenyon Martin, Pierce might be the story in the NBA this spring. At
this rate, the only thing that will separate him from Bird, Russell,
Cousy and Havlicek is the titles.

Unfortunately, the only thing that separated him from Scottie Pippen on
Sunday was that he stayed in the game. When Pippen was upset at Phil
Jackson for calling a last-second play for Toni Kukoc once upon a time,
he sat on the bench and sulked. The Bulls won, and Pippen carries the
well-earned stigma still. Pippen, it should be noted, buckled under the
playoff pressure yet again Sunday in the final seconds of Portland's
series-ending loss to LA.

There is no doubt that Pierce will be different from Pippen, mentally
tougher and more capable in the clutch. You can just see it in his game
and in his eyes. It's coming. In Minnesota right now, there are more than
a few Timberwolves fans who would trade Kevin Garnett straight-up for
Paul Pierce because Garnett, for all his breathtaking abilities, does not
seem to want the ball in the end.

Pierce wants it. He demands it. Like all the great ones, he's got the
fire, the drive, the gift of arrogance. We will applaud Paul Pierce for
all that and more, just as soon as he gets out of the first round.

____________________________________________________________

News you need, from bostonherald.com e-news

Get the top headlines of the day delivered right to your e-mail in-box
with bostonherald.com e-news. It's free, and it's easy to sign up. Stay
on top of the news you want - in sports, business, local news and
opinions, entertainment and more!

Sign up now at: http://bostonherald.publishmail.com

____________________________________________________________

) Copyright by the bostonherald.com and Herald Interactive Advertising
Systems, Inc.
No portion of bostonherald.com or its content may be reproduced without
the owner's written permission. Privacy Commitment
____________________________________________________________