Paul Leads Youthful Wiz

On Tuesday night in Toronto, Paul Pierce will play in his 150th career playoff game, and with that kind of experience — as The Truth showed in Game 1 of the series on Saturday — comes the leadership and confidence the Washington Wizards have needed all along.

When Paul signed with the Washington Wizards in the offseason, those two factors that The Truth would bring to D.C. were all any anybody could talk about. At the time, the Wizards were an up-and-coming young team fresh off their first playoff appearance in five years. They had no real closer, nobody to take control of the game and nobody who could keep the team steady in the playoffs.

That’s where Paul came in. Washington signed the future Hall of Famer to guide and direct them; to be their lighthouse and their life jacket, whenever they should need one or the other.

He’s been their lighthouse all season, by taking control in practices, trying to rub off some of his confidence and swagger on his teammates, giving pep talks throughout the game and often taking on the villain role like he did on Saturday in Game 1 of the team’s first round playoff series against Toronto.

But on Saturday he was not only a guiding presence for the Wizards, his performance in the second quarter, and later in overtime, saved them from falling down in the series.

“He was huge for us, in the second quarter, in the second half,” 21-year-old shooting guard Bradley Beal said after the win. “Toronto hates Paul. He made that known that he accepts it, he embraces it, that’s what motivated us a little bit. He accepted the challenge and he led us, he led us on both ends.”

Not only did No. 34 pace the team in scoring with 20 points, he also played nearly flawless basketball throughout the game. He made all but three of his 10 shots and was charged with just one of the Wizards’ 11 turnovers. It was part of a team-wide emphasis placed on ball security that Paul preached and his team followed, which limited possessions and opportunities for the Raptors.

Whether he was making plays on the court or getting in a teammate’s ear about a blown defensive assignment on his way to the bench, Paul was everywhere for Washington in the game, and appeared to thrive off the boos that were hurled toward him every time his fingertips came into contact with the ball.

“He was hyping us up, he was hyping us a lot,” Beal said after the game about The Truth. “Whenever he gets himself going, it’s no turning back. Then he gets the team going, he goes up to you individually and instills confidence within you. That’s what a great leader does, man, that’s what makes him so special for this team is that he can lead us on and off the floor.”

Like Beal, 24-year-old Washington point guard John Wall is appearing in the playoffs for just the second time in his career. For the Wizards backcourt tandem, the postseason is still a new experience, but for Paul it’s old hat. Saturday’s Game 1 was not only his 149 career postseason encounter, it also marked the 12th time in 17 seasons he’s appeared on a playoff squad and the start of the 26th different playoff series he’s participated in.

Having that experience to lean on in invaluable to Wall and Beal, and the All-Star Wizards floor general echoed his backcourt partner’s thoughts on how Paul hypes up the team, and explained what anybody who’s ever watched No. 34 play already knew.

“He’s The Truth for a reason, he’s built that name for a reason,” Wall said. “When he’s talking trash, it gets himself going, I mean being 16, 17 years in, you’ve got to motivate yourself some way, that’s how he does it.”

Wizards head coach Randy Wittman has expressed gratitude time and again throughout the season for what Paul brings to the team. But he was especially thankful after Game 1, when Paul not only brought the offense Washington desperately needed, but he also brought stability for a team he says is “still learning in terms of playoff basketball.”

“Yeah he was really big for us,” Wittman said. “I thought the three he hit to start the overtime was a big momentum

[boost for us], and then we scored again after that to take a quick five-point lead, which allowed us to really establish things defensively. What hasn’t he been involved in? As I’ve talked to you guys about his presence with this team and what he does, and we saw that tonight.”

Anybody who knows anything about The Truth could have predicted a big game from the living legend on Saturday. Paul has always thrived under pressure. He loves the postseason, his nerves don’t work like the average player’s and he could likely make big shots in the spotlight until he turns 80.

However, this time it wasn’t just about No. 34 flipping the switch. A key adjustment played a large role.

By moving Paul to the power forward position for parts of the game, Wittman adjusted his standard rotation to something that matched up better with the Raptors, who feature a number of big men who can shoot from the outside. This allowed the Wiz to bring 21-year-old Otto Porter off the bench as a small forward, which added more shooting and therefore more floor spacing for Washington on offense. It also helped on defense, where Paul was able to help limit the production of Toronto’s stretch-fours.

To a man, the members of the Washington locker room agreed that the adjustment played a huge role in the win, joking that it was something the team wanted to do all season but was saving for the playoffs.

“We’ve been asking all along to put him at the four a little bit, we’ve been talking about it,” Wall said with a chuckle. “He’s come in and he’s made big plays. He was upset at me I didn’t throw that one to him at the top of the key, when I skipped it over to Brad, so he was cussing me out a little bit.”

The play Wall referred to with a grin came in the second quarter, as The Truth was in the process of pushing the Wiz out to the lead. Paul was wide-open at the top of the three-point arc with Wall to his left and Beal to his right. The Truth called for the ball from Wall, but Wall instead fired a pass across the court to Beal. All was well that ended well, however. Beal flicked it back to Paul, who drained the triple.

Even Nene, who was relegated to the bench with the new lineup twist, was able to laugh about the situation, as the whole team was in good spirits after stealing a game in front of a rowdy Toronto crowd.

“Oh he took my spot, but he’s good,” Nene joked. “No it was good, it was a good strategy putting him at the stretch-four. That helped us, that was a new look, a new situation, it was good.”

Wittman revealed after the game that Paul plays an even bigger role with the team than previously understood. Not only did the 17-year veteran play 37 minutes and lead his team in scoring on the way to the win, he also acted as an advisor to his head coach, who has far less postseason experience.

After completing just his twelfth postseason game as an NBA head coach, Wittman revealed to reporters that he had picked Paul’s brain heading into the series, trying to come away with any bits of key information he could use in the playoffs.

“I’d be stupid not to,” Wittman replied, when asked if he went to No. 34 for help before the series began. “It’s a unique situation having a guy like him, and I not only picked his brain for being with Brooklyn last year and coming in here and winning the series, but his overall experience of winning a championship and what went into it, and how to handle and help with young guys. This is Otto Porter’s first playoff game, and I threw him out there to the wolves for 33 minutes. Paul is always talking to this kid, and I thought Otto handled it really well. I’ve done it off and on this year, but if I don’t take advantage of having a guy that’s going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer and pick his brain, then I’m not doing a very good job.”

While Paul’s leadership played a huge role in the Game 1 win, another victory would be even bigger. Tuesday’s Game 2 in Toronto offers the Wiz a chance to slide into the driver’s seat and take the series home with a 2-0 lead.

“You can’t get relaxed now because you got one game,” No. 34 said. “It’s about having that greedy attitude, that selfish attitude that ‘Hey, we’re trying to get this next game also.’ When you can get two games on the road at another opponent who has home-court advantage, it really breaks their back.”

Tip-off of Game 2, The Truth’s 150th career postseason game, is slated for an 8 p.m. ET tip from Toronto’s Air Canada Centre and can be seen locally on CSN, or nationally on NBATV.

RELATED LINKS

• The benefit of Washington playing Pierce at 4 (The Washington Post, April 19, 2015)
• The Wizards will play Pierce at the 4 more often (NBA.com, April 20, 2015)
• Paul Pierce trolls Toronto (Bullets Forever, April 19, 2015)
• Pierce playing role of distraction for Raptors (Tip of the Tower, April 20, 2015)
• Wizards hope to continue strong play on road vs. Raptors (Washington Post, April 21, 2015)