Pierce Establishes Himself - NY Times

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Pierce Establishes Himself

By LIZ ROBBINS

NDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 1 b Reggie Miller was breezing by in a golf cart inside
the RCA Dome on Saturday night, resting his sprained right ankle, when he
called out to his United States teammate Paul Pierce."You're the next
superstar!" Miller yelled with a mixture of truth and teasing, leaving Pierce
to talk about his game-changing play for the second straight night at the
world championships.

"You wait and see," Pierce said later, with a knowing smile. "I just got to
keep working at it."

With Miller sidelined, Pierce has emerged as the inspirational and scoring
leader on a squad of lesser-known all-stars still developing their team
personality.Pierce, a forward who just completed his fourth year with the
Boston Celtics, seems to be picking up where his breakout season left off. It
ended, disappointingly, to the Nets in the Eastern Conference finals,
however.

"Knowing that we came so close, it's going to motivate me even more," Pierce
said this afternoon, the day before the United States plays Russia in the
second round. "That's also why I wanted to get back on the court as soon as
possible and play with the U.S.A. team. If we could win a gold here, it could
kind of erase what happened last year."

Pierce is proudly donning his United States jersey, part of an experience he
has wanted since the Dream Team was assembled in 1992. As with everything in
his career b like being drafted 10th over all in the N.B.A. draft in 1998
b
he said he was motivated to prove people wrong.

"I was disappointed I wasn't one of the first seven players picked for this
team," Pierce said. "Then, when they asked me to play on the U.S.A. team,
there was no way I was going to say no to it. I never played in international
play, never had a chance to win a gold medal, so I couldn't pass it up."

Pierce is taking copious mental notes about his United States teammates,
including Miller, Michael Finley and Shawn Marion, cataloging their moves for
the regular season. He is also hoping to emulate Miller, the team captain.

"Reggie is just the consummate pro," Pierce said. "Just the way he prepares
for each game, the way he makes other guys comfortable. If I can be like him,
maybe I can take that back to my team."

Pierce recovered at home in Los Angeles from the loss to the Nets in the
conference finals. He said he was especially disappointed to see how the Nets
improved in the off-season, as their signing of the free-agent forward Rodney
Rogers, who played with the Celtics last season, had a direct impact on
Boston.

"It definitely hurt more that the Nets picked him up," Pierce said. "When I
first saw the Nets make that trade for Mutombo, I didn't think it was a good
trade for them. But now, it's like they traded Keith Van Horn for Rodney and
MacCulloch for Mutombo. So now it turns into a great trade."

Pierce has left such things behind him these 10 days in Indianapolis,
enjoying the festivities with a fresh exuberance. Pierce has led the United
States in scoring in all three games, averaging 22.3 points. Although he has
taken the most shots on the team (making 18 of 41), he is second in assists,
with 13, behind Baron Davis's 14.

"There's no question I've talked to him about how I'm going to ride him,"
said United States Coach George Karl, who is thrilled with Pierce's play and
selfless attitude. "I want him to be aggressive as a playmaker and also as a
scorer."

Against Germany on Friday night, Pierce helped turn a 1-point deficit into a
10-point lead when he nailed a 30-foot shot at the buzzer to end the third
quarter as the United States went on to a 104-87 victory. Against China on
Saturday, Pierce began the fourth quarter with a driving layup and finished
with 19 points to help the United States recover from an early threat.

"Pierce has been just great," forward Antonio Davis said. "Now you've got to
understand why his team went to the Eastern Conference finals. He's a guy who
is very vocal and he makes sure that everybody plays at the same level."

Pierce knows that he and Antoine Walker vaulted the Celtics to an
unexpectedly new level last season, but he says that expectations around the
league will not be as high as his own. At 24, he is enthusiastic about his
future, one that is evolving in Indianapolis.

"I want a gold medal here, then hopefully get to play in the Olympics," he
said. "I feel like this will make me a much better player. If it earns me
some fans around the world, where I'm not really known on the world stage,
that's great, too."