The Killer Crossover 06.09.08: The Pierce Moment

Posted by Todd Spehr on 06.09.2008

Paul Pierce officially joined the ranks of Celtics greats when he courageously came back in Game 1 of the 2008 Finals. People dared compare Pierce's comeback with Willis Reed's famed efforts in Game 7 of the '70 Finals, but as 411's Todd Spehr explains, PP's heroics were more like that of another Celtic great: Larry Bird.

I couldn't help but let out a little chuckle when the whole "Willis Reed in ‘70" comparison was thrown at Paul Pierce in the aftermath of Game 1 of the Finals. After all, Pierce looked like he'd been hit by a sniper sitting in the nosebleeds when he went down midway through the third quarter, only to return moments later, hit a couple of 3s, help bury LA, and add his name to a long list of Celtics who had come up huge in playoff games.

But here's the deal: Sure, Pierce's comeback was heroic, gallant, inspiring, all that stuff, but we have it all wrong. His comeback wasn't reminiscent to Willis Reed's famed efforts in Game 7 of the '70 Finals, but rather, eerily similar to Larry Bird's in-game revival in Game 5 of the '91 opening round against Indiana, when Larry copped a mouth full of parquet, sat dazed and confused in the Garden locker-rooms for about a quarter, hauled his gimpy back off the canvas one more time, lifted Boston to a big victory while adding the umpteenth chapter to his storied career.

So why wasn't Pierce's effort like Reed's?

Three reasons: 1) Reed's came in a Game 7 so it obviously takes precedence that way; 2) Reed's damage didn't come in the game's 48 minutes, but instead prior to the game, when he limped out on the floor in front of a delirious MSG crowd, and from what most say, had one Wilton Norman Chamberlain beat right then and there; 3) The hero of Reed's game was really someone else – Walt Frazier, who had 36 and 19. Be sure to re-read his stats again when you regain consciousness.

So let's look at a more suitable comparison for Pierce – the Bird game from '91. Both left the game to injury. Both took the breath out of every Bostonian when they went down. Both came back to massive ovations. Both made instant contributions; Bird dropped 12 points in the last four minutes of the third, while Pierce hit two of the biggest 3s he ever made at the end of the third. Both had big games (unlike Reed, who had just four points) – Bird with 32, Pierce with 22 on a ridiculously efficient 10 shots. Both led their teams to victory.

So now that you've realized I'm not taking a darn thing from Pierce, you can see the correlation. Reed's effort is The Dean of such comebacks, Bird's was a solid runner-up, and now you can add Pierce to that. Because, when all things are considered, what PP did was pretty big, and you can't forget that it was the moment he truly took his place amongst the greats Boston has had.

You can stack him up statistically with most, but he never had that "Playoff Moment" to back up his stature. Can't say that anymore. Heck, when you hold the dubious distinction of being the longest tenured Celtic to never appear in a Finals game, you know that he'd probably never had his moment. But now he has. And there's no doubt he wants more.

You can read Todd Spehr's NBA column every Wednesday at 411mania.com. To read more of his stuff, check out his recently launched blog "Runnin' The Point," which has daily updates for the NBA playoffs, analyzing every PG who takes the floor.