The Truth never Lied
Take a moment. Watch that and take it in. That’s the shot that won the Celtics the game last night.
Brought to you by, none other than, Paul Pierce. The man that they call the Truth.
When asked if Pierce was thinking about taking the three point shot during that possession the whole time he answered with these comments.
"Situations and things are going so fast, you kind of play on instincts."
He just took the shot. Pierce also said that LeBron backed off of him a little and he knew it was his range. Let me start out by saying that it was an awful possession. The clock hadn’t died down that much, but it was dwindling. For Pierce to hoist up a three point attempt with LeBron James, a member of the all defensive first team, down his throat was amazing.
For him to have the guts to take such a shot is even more amazing. Pierce originally had Shane Battier, a favorable matchup, on him. Rondo then makes the mistake of setting a pick for Pierce in trying to free him up for an open look. I’m not sure if Rondo had any clue that James and Battier would end up switching assignments, but that’s what happened.
They switched. James was on Pierce. Rondo was out of the play. It was an isolation. They were going one on one. James and Pierce; two of the NBA’s greatest active rivals. Playoff hopes, title contention, and legacies were all riding on this one shot. Pierce came through in one of the most clutch moments of the game. Something that it has been said that James has the inability to do. Something that many players will shy away from when the time comes.
Not Pierce. He wants the ball when these moments arrive. He has full confidence in himself and in his team and will do anything in his power to win a game.
Pierce’s shot could represent so much for the people of Boston and basketball in this city. Pierce’s most decorated rival during his career in Boston was right in his face. These two have had so many battles since James has come into the league. 40 point and 50 point games respectively. Playoff success at the counterparts expense. All of this came to a head last night. They say that they don’t think of these moments in that way, but I don’t believe that one bit.
Pierce knows that he loves beating James and James knows that he loves sticking it to the Celtics. You can tell because of moments like these that the games mean a lot to these two teams.
A win for the Celtics tomorrow night would put this shot in Boston history forever. If they are able to get to another NBA Finals with this team the way it is currently constructed would be a feat that was said to be impossible for the Celtics. Especially since the lockout condensed the schedule. During the beginning of the season a lot of basketball pundits and aficionados were writing this team off.
They were said to be to old and too slow to compete with the likes of the Heat and the Bulls. Well now Kevin Garnett is having a second childhood, Rajon Rondo is cementing his place in the upper echelon of point guards in the NBA, and Boston is looking like a championship team.
Pierce’s shot is only the beginning for this team right now. As far as they are concerned it only won them one game. They must close the Heat out in their return to Beantown in game 6 and then they are going to focus on winning the opening game of the NBA Finals.
For this team they have to take things one step at a time. However, it is still good to step back and take a look at what could possibly be a damn good moment in Boston Celtics history.