The Truth At The Break

Paul Pierce joined the budding Washington Wizards in the offseason with hopes of helping the team take the next step and compete for a NBA championship—and after a roller coaster first half, he has them in position to do just that.

But sitting in fourth in the Eastern Conference, The Truth and the Wiz still have plenty to gain as they work their way toward the postseason.

In mid-July, The Truth signed a two-year deal with the Washington Wizards, thereby ending his one-year stay with the Brooklyn Nets. The Wizards went after Paul immediately after their previous starting small forward, Trevor Ariza, signed with the Houston Rockets, and within hours of Ariza’s departure, No. 34 was set to become a Wizard.

It all started with a tweet:

It was a move that shocked the NBA world at the time, especially given the rapid pace in which the Wizards moved to acquire the legendary forward, but in retrospect, signs were there long before the deal was announced. Just a few months earlier, the Wizards had swept their season series with the Nets and Paul walked away impressed with the up-and-coming Wizards, citing star point guard John Wall and the team’s chemistry as reasons for the squad’s newfound success.

“They’re coming into their own,” The Truth said at the time. “They’re growing up right before our eyes. You’ve seen their struggles over the years, and John Wall has matured as a player, obviously, becoming an All-Star this year and taking on more responsibilities and becoming a leader for this ballclub. That’s what the Washington Wizards have been waiting on, and you’re seeing it.”

Paul was correct in noting that the Wizards were already coming into their own, but his impact this season cannot be understated.

Despite a recent skid during which Washington lost eight of 12 games, the Wizards hold a 33-21 record and are just one game behind the Chicago Bulls for third place in the Eastern Conference. Heading into the All-Star break last year, the Wizards were just 25-27 and barely clung to the sixth spot in the East. 

It’s never easy for a player to switch teams, but The Truth has had to deal with an added wrinkle that most players will never have to experience. Paul played for the Boston Celtics for 15 season—longer than most players are in the league.

Since departing Boston. he’s had to adjust to a completely different life not just once, but twice. His point guard for the second half of his tenure in Boston was Rajon Rondo, a pass-first floor general who always sought to create for teammates. In Brooklyn, Paul underwent a massive change in offensive scheme playing with Deron Williams, a natural scorer who can also distribute but plays a very different game than Rondo. 

Now in Washington, The Truth receives dimes from Wall, a speed demon who loves to play in transition and keep defenses on their toes.

Every player must adjust their playing style as their career progresses, and no athlete is the same at 37 as they were at 27. Most players see their numbers drop while their minutes do the same, and their athletic abilities undoubtedly fade with time.

While Paul was the primary scoring threat for nearly the entirety of his Celtics career, he willingly sat in the passenger seat last year for the Nets and is doing so even more this year in D.C. Paul hasn’t given in to Father Time, but he hasn’t tried to fight a losing battle, either. Since he came to the Wizards, he’s deferred to in-house stars John Wall and Bradley Beal, making it perfectly clear to all that he perfectly understands his role in Washington. 

“(Wall) is an All-Star, he’s our best player,” he said after clinching the first win of the season for his new squad against the Orlando Magic. “We need him to take the lead and control the game like he did down the stretch. He made either the right pass or the scoring play, and that’s what we’re going to need from him, that’s what we’re going to need from Bradley. Gortat too. It has to come from a number of guys.”

Though Paul dealt with an early-season shooting slump, he was instrumental in helping the Wiz begin the season 7-2 while Beal was recovering from a fractured wrist.

In that span, he put up 11.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while also knocking down 34 of 38 free throw attempts. No. 34 was especially valuable to the Wizards in January, when they faced an exceptionally difficult schedule that included two meetings each with the San Antonio Spurs, Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder, as well as games against the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans.

The Truth was ready for the challenge, responding with perhaps his best month of the season. He played in 15 games, including every game against the above teams and averaged 12.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting .481 from the field and a scorching .433 from three-point range.

Though the Wizards went just 9-8 in January, they could have fared much worse in a very trying stretch of the schedule, and six of their eight losses were by single digits.

The Wiz started February on a bit of a slump, losing the first three games of the month. Since then, however, they’ve been much improved. The resurgence has included blowout wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic by a combined 53 points, as well as a tough two-point loss road to the Raptors, who are second in the East.

The three games before the break have things looking up in the nation’s capital going into the second half.

BY THE NUMBERS

1.34 — At 1.34 points per shot, Paul leads the Wizards and is among the top 25 in the league.

4 — With a late dagger against his former team the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 14, Paul moved into sole position of fourth place on the NBA’s all-time three-point shooting list.

33 — The Wizards have won 33 games heading into the All-Star break, eight more than they did before the break a year ago without Paul.

36 — The number of times Paul has scored in double figures this season.

43.3 — The Truth shot 43.3 percent from three-point range in January.

45.1 — Paul is shooting 45.1 percent from the field this season, the same as last year, and slightly above his career mark of 44.7 percent.

188 — Paul has scored 188 points on the second night of back-to-backs this season, more than any other player 35 years or older.

25,670 — The Truth has scored 25,670 points in his career, 15th most in NBA history and fourth among active players.

IN THEIR WORDS

It’s not just in the day-to-day box scores that Paul makes his presence felt. His leadership, veteran savvy, championship pedigree, late-game demeanor and confidence are priceless additions to any team he plays with, and it shows when his teammates talk about him.

“It’s a dream to play with a guy like Paul Pierce,” center Marcin Gortat said before the season. “It’s an honor to play with this guy.” “Everybody is following him like he’s the head coach of this team. We came in, we played pickup games, the team that lost has to run suicides. He was the first guy that actually ran the suicides with the losers. He didn’t have to say anything, the whole team stood up too, and started running. It was huge.”

Wall was the biggest name on the Wizards before No. 34 came to D.C., did not react to Paul’s signing as a threat to his budding stardom. Rather, he was thrilled to have the opportunity to learn from one of the best to ever play the game.

“Just being around a guy like that who knows how to win and knows certain situations, he can help us young fellas out as much as possible,” he said. “When you have 17 years and you win a championship, you can tell me whatever you want—I’m listening.”

After The Truth demonstrated his uncanny ability to take over late in games for the first time as a Wizard—in the aforementioned win over the Magic—his new teammates raved about the future Hall of Famer.

“It brought back memories,” Garrett Temple said that night. “I was just thinking about what he used to do with the Celtics. That’s why we brought him in. That’s why he’s here, to settle us down, get us in a good spot and we trust him in those situations and I’m glad he’s on our team.”

Paul has made countless other clutch shots already for the Wizards, including a late three that helped put away his former Nets team and put him in sole ownership of fourth place on the NBA’s all-time three-point list on Jan. 14, as well as a pair of threes against the Thunder a week later.

But it’s not just his shooting that excels when time is running out.

On Nov. 29, Paul helped the Wizards bounce back from a loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers by carrying them in the final minutes to an 83-80 win over the Pelicans. With the Wizards trailing 77-76 and three minutes on the clock, No. 34 took over. He not only went on a personal 5-0 run to put Washington up by four, he also rejected sharpshooter Ryan Anderson’s three-pointer that would have brought the Pelicans back within one.

This whole sequence occurred in less than a minute, and Wizards head coach Randy Wittman couldn’t help but marvel at what The Truth had done.

“He hits a big three, he pump fakes the three and gets a driving layup, then he has a block coming down the stretch,” Wittman said. “That’s what Paul gives us: a calming influence in those situations.”

He does it on the defensive end as well. In Washington’s epic double-overtime victory against Paul’s former squad, the Celtics, The Truth played suffocating defense on Jeff Green despite playing the final 15 minutes with five fouls.

“He definitely takes pride in his challenge,” Beal said after No. 34 took a late charge and swarmed the dynamic Celtics scorer throughout. “He makes sure that his player has a bad shooting night. He’s going to do whatever it takes to get a stop. That charge was big for us. He does a great job of sacrificing his body. … He does a great job of taking that leadership, taking a step because that gets everybody else involved. Everybody else wants to make plays like that as well.”

Rasual Butler, a fantastic shooter who often splits time with The Truth, loves the leadership No. 34 brings to the squad.

“Paul Pierce, his leadership—in the locker room and on the floor—it’s second to none,” Butler said. “He’s always making winning basketball plays.”

The previous night, Boston point guard Rajon Rondo explained the impact Paul has on the young core of the Wizards.

“He’s one of my favorite guys,” Rondo said about The Truth. “He’s one of my favorite leaders I’ve ever played with and he’s a great role model. The older he gets, the more knowledge he has for younger guys like John Wall and Bradley Beal.”

In addition to his former teammates, his former coach, Doc Rivers, also knows The Truth. Now the coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, Rivers talked about the edge Paul provides in D.C.

“Paul’s a smart basketball player,” Rivers said. “It’s his knowledge and competitiveness. He’s a tough competitor. He doesn’t like losing.”

ESPN’s Bill Simmons, a noted Boston fan, has also kept an eye on the impact The Truth has had in Washington.

“Paul Pierce has been unbelievable for the Wizards,” Simmons said on a Grantland podcast. “To me, he’s the free-agent signing of the summer. The leadership he brings…I think he’s done a lot for John Wall.”

Wall agrees. About a month after Simmons made those comments, the Wizards point guard made an appearance on Simmons’ podcast and talked about what No. 34 has brought to the locker room and the hardwood in D.C.

“He’s bringing a lot to our team,” Wall said. “That competitive nature, playoff personality, to give us that hunger—and his leadership has been key to our team.”

GAME OF THE YEAR

Paul first faced his long-time team, the Celtics, while in Wizards colors on a home-and-home back-to-back. The C’s came out on top the first time around, winning 101-93 in Boston. But in the second game of that back-to-back, Paul led the Wizards on offense and defense. He tallied 28 points and provided lockdown coverage that held Green to six points on eight shots after the third quarter.

No. 34 also got his points on quality more than quantity, and needed just 12 shots to set his season high. The Truth went 4-of-5 from three-point range and hit all six of his free throws, while also grabbing seven boards, three assists and two steals.

It was an emotional win for the whole team and for the Verizon Center crowd. It’s always meaningful when The Truth plays the team he forged his legacy with, but he also passed Reggie Miller for 16th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list that night.

“I think it’s all great but I really don’t think it’s going to sink in until I’m done playing,” Paul said of his remarkable accomplishment. “Everything is still going, I still have a lot of basketball left to play, I’ve accomplished a lot of things in this game but I don’t think it’s really going to truly sink in until I sit down, walk away from the game and say, ‘Dang, look at the things you’ve been able to accomplish.’ Right now I’m just riding this wave, you know, I’m still on my surfboard.”

Adding to the drama, Wall was playing in honor of a young girl who passed away after a bout with cancer before the game. Paul and the Wizards made sure their point guard earned a win for the girl he had befriended in the months before her passing.

The game was also one of the most exciting and entertaining games of the season, ending at an incredible 133-132 score. Celtics wing Evan Turner nailed a second-chance three with 0.9 seconds remaining to force overtime, then teammate Brandon Bass missed a transition layup at the buzzer that sent the game to the decisive second overtime.

Without Paul’s hustle on defense, Bass would have had a much better look at the shot and the Wizards might have walked out of the building with a heartbreaking loss. Instead, The Truth gave his team another chance and Wall responded with a dominant performance in the second overtime en route to a Wizards win.

“This team is showing a lot of characteristics of a pretty good team,” Paul said afterward. “We’re trying to strive for greatness, but a lot of lessons can be learned, even in a win. I’m glad we were on the winning side, especially since we blew a big lead. This says a lot about what we have here in this locker room…We had to have this one.”

SECOND-HALF OUTLOOK

At the All-Star break, the Wizards sit in fourth place in the East with a record of 33-21.

They have a half-game lead on the Cleveland Cavalierss (33-22) and a 2.5-game lead on the Milwaukee Bucks, then there’s a major drop off to seventh, the 22-30 Charlotte Hornets. The Wizards trail the Bulls by one game (34-20) for third place, and the Raptors have a three-game lead on Washington for second while the Hawks are dominating the conference and hold a 10-game lead over the Wizards.

Though anything can happen and Atlanta is certainly within reach, the Hawks have been playing such exemplary basketball this season that the No. 1 seed is theirs to lose. The second half of the season will likely come down to a slugfest between Toronto, Chicago, Washington, Cleveland and Milwaukee for the final placement of seeds two through six, so the Wizards will need to shake off the slump that has plagued them the past few weeks if they want to maintain their position near the top of the standings.

Just as they were at the start of the season, the Wizards could be without one of their stars for a few games. Beal is recovering from a mild stress reaction in his right fibula and will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break, but it’s possible he could miss time.

Otherwise, the Wizards are relatively healthy and the long break will be good for a squad that features three players age 35 or older who play substantial minutes.

Though he joked earlier this season that New Year’s was when he started to turn his game up, The Truth indeed has historically stepped it up a notch after the All-Star break.

Last season, Paul shot .429 from the field and .360 from three-point range before the All-Star break, then shot .488 and .392 after the break. The season before, he shot .415 and .359 before the break, then came out and shot a scorching .485 and .425 to close out his final season in Boston.

With 28 games remaining on the schedule, the Wizards are just 12 wins away from surpassing last season’s total, but they would ideally want to pull out at least 17 wins to earn their first 50-win season since 1978-79.

Though it seems the playoffs are just about a lock for Washington again this year, Paul and the Wizards have no plans to relax for the final stretch as their seed is still anything but decided. The Wizards still have to prove to themselves and others that they can hang with the teams more commonly considered to be title contenders.

D.C. will start the second half with a crucial game—one that could result in an immediate change in the standings. Paul and the Wizards host LeBron James and the Cavs Friday night on ESPN.

IN HIS WORDS

When Paul chose to come to Washington in the summer, he said it was because he believed in the young core of the Wizards and he thought it was a team that could contend immediately.

Though the Wizards have dealt with a number of injury problems and there have been games that they’ve looked flustered, they’ve also shown that they can compete with any team in the league when they’ve got everything clicking. Last month, after The Truth helped bury the Bulls—whom many considered the preseason favorites to win the East—he explained to reporters how he enjoys the underdog role.

“Oh I love it. You know, everybody has their opinion,” Paul explained to reporters regarding analysts doubting the Wizards. “It’s the reason I decided to come to this team, because I saw something, and we’re just going to go out there and grow, and show it each and every night. Right now, not a lot of people talk about us, but that’s OK. Fly under the radar and see where we are at the end of the year.”

When a reporter then asked No. 34 if a championship was a realistic goal for the Wizards this year, Paul didn’t hesitate for a moment.

“I wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t the goal.”