In 1998, Paul Pierce was drafted into the Boston Celtics organization from his home in southern California, making his new team silence his love for the Los Angeles Lakers. It is almost ironic that the Lakers now silence what could possibly be his last season with the Celtics, after 12 seasons and two NBA Finals appearances under his belt.
Pierce came to Boston as an All-American at Kansas, and didn't need long to show the effect of his actions, averaging 16.5 points and 6.4 rebounds in the strike-shortened NBA season. In just 48 games, he somehow had a huge effect on the losing Celtics, averaging a strong 34 minutes per game.
Pierce's PPG mark slowly rose from that 16.5, to 19.5, to 25.3 in the 2000-01 season. He showed that he would be a threat to not only shoot 3-pointers, but defend the boards from the No. 3 position on the floor. Pierce became a playmaker early, showing attitude and grace in the last minutes of games.
Those first three seasons were on under .500 Celtic teams that never reached the playoffs, and it wasn't until the 2001-2002 season that he and Antoine Walker would highlight a team ready to play the New Jersey Nets i ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Thomas H.
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June 20th, 2010 by Thomas H. Leave a reply »
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