Fw: [Celtics' Stuff HOOPSWORLD - Ravi

["Lance Jacobson" <lancejacob@xxxxxxxxx>]

FWIW, Ravi's been posting to Metz' site for some time.  So much of this just
rings in my ears. . .  But then again, I've been alerted that not everyone on
this board thinks Pierce walks on water, but he does have the healing touch
and makes excellent wine out of Poland Springs.. . . .
----- Original Message -----
From: CeltsSteve@aol.com
To: Celticsstuffgroup@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2002 7:38 AM
Subject: [Celtics' Stuff HOOPSWORLD - Ravi


Bn
Piercing Through the Veil to Expose the Truth?

Rumblings out of Indianapolis, Indiana and specifically the closed doors of
the Team USA locker room are suggesting more than a few Team USA ballers found
Celtics co-captain and star Paul Pierce to be a selfish player.  In Boston,
where Celtics fans regard Paul Pierce as sort of a basketball Jesus
(CeltsSteve: Many do but certainly not all) this came as a total shock.  How
could the chosen one be anything other than perfect given the countless times
he carried the Celtics to victory last season with his 'take of over the game'
mentality and  with his warm personality and apparent professionalism both on
and off the court?

Apparently that 'take over the game' mentality didn't sit as well with his
Team USA mates when, according to published reports from the Boston Globe,
Pierce got into a tiff with point guard Andre Miller during the Argentina game
and later voiced some displeasure at not getting the ball when he was open
during the final possessions of the game with Yugoslavia.  No one likes to
play with a ball hog after-all. Least of all a plethora of "Dream Teamers"
that come together to display their individual and collective wares to a
global audience.

The collective meltdown that was the Basketball World Championships for the
Americans did of course lead to much finger pointing and it was to be expected
that players' tempers would flare and a sort of angst amongst the group would
develop.  Not even medaling when the Gold is expected and subsequently having
to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games is the penultimate embarrassing moment
in Team USA history with the blame game sure to follow. Is Pierce to be the
brunt of that blame?  The reported guy that wouldn't play team ball against
international players that play nothing but team ball? Difficult to say.

Former Celtic great Bill Russell talked often about subjugating individual ego
for team ego.  He spoke from experience of course having subjugated
practically his entire offensive game because his coach and mentor Red
Auerbach and the makeup of the teams he played on demanded that he be the
defensive and rebounding demon he was.  That attitude won Russell eleven NBA
titles.  In today's NBA, the concept of team ego appears to have disappeared
for the mega stars or those well on their way to stardom. To be sure it's
there for the "lesser" players.  Players like former Celtic point guard Kenny
Anderson who was forced to give up much of his individual game to fit a Boston
offensive system that demanded that Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker have the
ball in their hands the majority of time.  But in the case of Boston are
Pierce and Walker also subjugating their individual egos for the greater good?
Walker appears to have during a breakthrough last season in which he finally
attempted to, and successfully it should be noted, make those around him
better while also acknowledging that teammate Pierce was the best player on
the team.  Pierce? To be sure, he has made himself better but he has yet to
make those around him better.  Which indirectly seems to be the insinuation
coming from his Team USA teammates. - RS

NEWSLINES

Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star suggests that Team USA would have fared
much better in the Basketball World Championships if it had more players like
Paul Pierce on the squad.

Peter May of the Boston Globe reports that among his Team USA mates, Paul
Pierce has quickly developed a reputation for being a selfish player. "Paul
Pierce isn't making a lot of friends on the United States team. He's
developing a reputation as a selfish player. He had one dust-up with Andre
Miller during the Argentina game and he threw a couple of williwaws during the
Yugoslavia game when he was open on the perimeter and didn't get the ball. It
was interesting to hear Miller say that Pierce was supposed to get the ball on
the last two possessions of the Yugoslavia game but was unable to get open."

CeltsSteve

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