August 23, 2010

No. 34 Sees Celts on Top Again

A plethora of moves from title contenders has changed much of the NBA landscape this summer, but Paul Pierce isn’t phased.

Paul told reporters at his youth camp at Basketball City last week that his team has yet to be dethroned as Eastern Conference Champions and he still considers them the favorites.

"I think we’re right there at top," No. 34 told the Boston Globe. "I think we’re one of the top four or five teams in all of basketball. I think we should try to get the top seed."

"I love our team," he told the Boston Herald. "No one’s bigger than us at the center position."

That’s because the Celtics recently added one of the best big men in NBA history when they signed four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’ Neal to join Boston in a run at another championship. It’s a move Paul said he helped to orchestrate.

"I pushed for it," he told the Boston Globe. "You look around and you look at the free agents, Shaq was the best available. And Perk [Kendrick Perkins] being out half of the season, you know how ACL injuries go sometimes, you could be out 5-6 months or be out a year sometimes, you never know.

"We needed another big guy. I talked to [GM] Danny [Ainge] even two or three weeks before we got Shaq. I talked to [majority owner] Wyc [Grousbeck], I talked to [co-owner Steve] Pagliuca and I think we all thought that was a good move to try to pursue him just to add depth there."

The addition of Shaq along with another long, experienced O’Neal, Jermaine, plus the returns of Nate Robinson, Ray Allen and Marquis Daniels have the Celtics primed for another run at the title.

"You are adding veterans who aren’t going to have an ego either and are playing for the same things we are playing for," No. 34 said. "It’s not like we are getting a young Shaq or young Jermaine O’Neal.

"These guys had their success in the league and continue to have it, but they aren’t stat-conscious. That’s the whole key with us. It’s all about the sacrifice."

Sacrifice is and always has been a big part of the Celtics teams since Ainge brought in Allen and Kevin Garnett prior to the 2007-2008 season to join Paul and form the original Big Three. All three men were forced to make sacrifices and their reward was a championship.

Since then the development of Rajon Rondo into a premier point guard has merged the group into more of a Big Four and even more sacrifices came with that revelation. Last season, Paul posted the lowest points per game total of his NBA career, but he did so out of selflessness to help the Celtics to achieve their goals. He’s fully aware that not all players know how to put away their egos that way.

"The thing that Danny does, man, he does his background checks, he talks to the players," Pierce said. "[Coach] Doc [Rivers] talks to the guys. When you are bringing in players when you have a group like us, it’s important not to just bring anybody into the mix. You’ve got to bring in guys who are going to be the right fit, that’s going to be willing to do what we need them to do to help this ball club."

The Captain remains convinced that one other veteran, the recently retired Rasheed Wallace, will be rejoining the Celtics at some point this season. Sheed insists his career is over, but Paul is not buying it.

"I told him, 'Go ahead, do all you need to do. Take the kids everywhere," The Truth told Comcast’s A. Sherrod Blakely of his message to Wallace. "We'll see you in February.'"

But Paul knows even with the additions the Celts have made, because of the moves made across the league — especially those of the Miami Heat adding superstars Chris Bosh and LeBron James to Dwayne Wade — defending the East won’t be a cakewalk.

"I’ve never seen a summer like this," The Captain told the Boston Herald. "The landscape of the NBA is changing, West to East…It’s like the season never ended. You’re seeing a new era in basketball. It’s going to be different the next 10, 15 years."

No. 34 does see some similarities in Boston’s Big Three and the group Heat have assembled, but he also sees one key difference that could hold Miami back if Bosh, Wade and James aren’t willing to let go a little, as Paul told Greg Dickerson of CSN New England:

"You know it could come together right away for them, like it did when we brought our whole new team together, but it's all about the sacrifice, it's all about dropping the egos, and it's all about communication. It's going to be hard, you know why? I like to call this barbershop talk, because you go to a barbershop and all you talk about is basketball and sports and people are always saying, 'What if Kevin, Ray, and Paul had gotten together when they were younger? They'd probably have four or five championships. But then you don't take into (account) the fact that we were all in our primes, still trying to establish ourselves at the same time, which is what you're seeing with Miami now.

All of these guys are in their prime. Now, how much of your prime are you going to sacrifice? LeBron right now is an MVP-caliber player. Wade is also, too. And also Chris Bosh. Now, can these guys say for the rest of their careers it's not about winning the MVP? It's about sacrificing the individual numbers for a greater good, and that's winning a championship. I think the great players make the adjustment. If it doesn't work out (the first year), I think as time goes, they'll figure it out."

Of course The Truth and the Celtics open their season just over two months from now when they welcome those Heat to the TD Garden on NBA Opening Night in a game that could set the tone for one of the most epic seasons in league history.

"It's great for the league," Pierce said of opening against a Miami team that many have predicted will be NBA champions this season. "People have been talking about the game of basketball all summer. I feel like we're still in season, how much basketball we talked this summer with the free agency. I feel like the season never ended. Usually you get a mental break, but it's been constant."

EURO-TRUTH?
When Paul signed his contract this summer to spend the next four years in Boston and retire from the NBA a lifetime Celtic, he didn’t necessarily say that would be the end of his basketball career.

In fact, The Truth already has his future plans laid out and they involve taking his talents oversees to finish his basketball years in Europe.

"As far as retiring from the NBA, I think I will be done after this contract because eventually I want to go overseas and play and live for a couple of years," he told Dickerson. "That's why this is a big contract for me, knowing I'm going to retire a Boston Celtic. I want to go to either Italy or Greece for a year. I think I want to be able to bring my family over to just kind of share a different experience overseas for a couple of years, before I settle into retirement."

Trey Kirby of Yahoo’s Ball Don’t Lie loves the sound thinking on Paul’s part:

"Nice plan. Usually the guys that head overseas when they're done in the NBA are the guys hard up for money. Considering Pierce will have made more than $180 million by the time he's done, that's probably not the case. He just wants to chill and hang out in the Mediterranean with his family, which seems like an awesome plan. Not to mention, he'll only be 36 when his contract ends — assuming the Celtics pick up his last non-guaranteed year — meaning he'll still be able to be a meaningful contributor, which means he'll get a better deal. Not bad at all."

The Truth also revealed to CSN’s Dickerson that he had no intention of leaving Boston and his opt out was instead focused on helping the team in the short term with financial flexibility:

"I never thought for half of a second (that I would be somewhere else). Truthfully. I couldn't even picture myself in another uniform. I never thought for a second, really. I opted out because I wanted to help the team, take less money per year, so we could restructure the team. I like the team, I wanted to bring everybody back, add some pieces, and that was my reason for opting out."

CELTIC RETREAT
With some new faces in town and focus becoming of paramount concern, Paul believes the Celtics should be searching for a new place to train in preparation for the upcoming season.

As he explains to the Boston Globe, a group retreat might do some good for team chemistry:

"I think it would be good for this group to get away," said Pierce. "I’m really getting tired of Newport. Really, I want to go somewhere else…Newport is good, but I want to go somewhere else. It would be good to get away with this type of group, when you have Jermaine and Shaq.

"When you got new guys and these types of personalities, I think it’s good for all of us to get out, be at a dinner table — me, Shaq, Kevin [Garnett], Ray [Allen], Jermaine. I think it would be good for that relationship, building that chemistry. We get away and go somewhere, that’s something we’ll definitely do."

A PAC MAN FAN
Though its heyday in the town has long since passed, boxing remains one of the most beloved sports in Boston.

All-time greats from Rocky Marciano in the 50's to Marvelous Marvin Hagler in the 80’s have hailed from the Beantown area and made fighting one of the city’s greatest treasures. But you’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger fan of the sweet-science in Boston than The Truth.

Paul recently told AOL Fanhouse’s Elie Seckbach that he is a huge fan of the sport and offered his opinion on one of it’s current greats: Manny Pacquiao:

"I love Manny," he said. "I’ve got Manny as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world."

The Truth also told Seckbach that he considers Muhammad Ali to be the best athlete of all time and said Ali has been inspired Paul throughout his life.

"Ali is, to me, the greatest athlete to ever live," The Truth said. "He’s been an inspiration to me, his hard work. All over my house I have all kinds of memorabilia with him, pictures with him, autographs, gloves. It’s a great honor to be in his presence. I had a chance to meet him last year at All-Star Weekend. To me, he’s the greatest athlete to ever step out there and do his thing."

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