Paul Pierce has a decorated career, which includes an NBA championship, All-star games, and breakout seasons, but his long time coach and friend Doc Rivers says that Paul Pierce still has tons of time to play in the NBA.
According to Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk:
“We were talking about him early, and Ralph (Lawler, Clipper broadcaster) was saying ‘He’s gone back to the youth fountain.’ No he hasn’t, he’s playing the same way he was 10 years ago,” Rivers said Friday night before his Clippers easily handled Pierce and the Wizards. “That’s why he’s so good. Paul’s never used his athleticism, that’s been his secret to me. He uses timing, and he outsmarts people. He uses his angles; he uses fundamentals.
“I said years ago Paul can play forever; he can play until he decides he doesn’t want to play because he’ll always be effective. I watched him in our gym this summer, playing with all these young guys in a pickup game, and he dominated the game. These guys are going a thousand miles an hour and here comes Paul. It’s just funny to watch. I’ve seen it up close, and obviously I’m watching it from afar now.”
For the Wizards, Pierce spaces the floor more with threes — he’s taking more shots from beyond the arc per 36 minutes than he ever has in his career, and he’s hitting 40 percent of them.
“He takes them when he’s ready to take them,” Rivers said of Pierce from deep. “It’s rare that you’re going to see someone rush him into doing anything. He’ll take a shot when he’s good and ready. That’s how you almost feel with him, and that’s what makes him so good.”
No one is going out and saying that Paul Pierce can still be an elite player in the NBA, but he can definitely contribute. The way Paul plays, he doesn’t need speed, athleticism, or anything that needs youthfulness to be good at. He uses fundamentals, smart plays and his overall knowledge of the game to beat teams.
