Paul Pierce admitted that it was strange wearing different colors than Boston Celtics green and gold last season. Now playing for his third team in as many years and without long-time teammate Kevin Garnett by his side for the first time since 2007, Washington Wizards red and blue surely feels just as weird if not more so than Brooklyn Nets black and white. But a player like Pierce belongs to the game more than any single franchise, and you can bet he’s intent on making the same on- and off- court impact in Washington as he did in his previous long and short stops. And even though training camp has yet to begin, The Truth’s deep-rooted basketball ideology is already rubbing off on his teammates.
Second-year small forward and Pierce’s likely backup Otto Porter says the future Hall-of-Famer is adding an element of inherent toughness to the Wizards that they lacked last season, an attitude that will help them take care of business at the Verizon Center.
Via J. Michael of CSN Washington:
“You like competitive guys that take things serious. He’s not the type of guy that has a lot of friends in the NBA. Like the old days,” said Otto Porter, a rising second-year player who’ll be Pierce’s backup at small forward and has been taken under his wing. “That’s good. That’s what our team needs.
“Today I heard him say, “Hey, we got to protect home court this year. Anybody who come up here, they’re going to get beaten up.’ I was like, ‘That’s what I’m talking about.’ I hadn’t heard that in here. I’m about that. That’s how it was at Georgetown. Protect home court, always. … That’s going to change.”
It’s prudent of Pierce to stress the importance of winning at home. Washington went 22-19 both at home and on the road in 2013-2014, and won a single playoff game at Verizon Center despite five opportunities. The Wizards won two home games fewer than every other playoff team last season, too.
The confidence that a team can win on the road is vital, obviously, but it normally comes with home victories as an almost foregone conclusion. Washington was an anomaly in that regard last season, and that needs to change if the Wizards will make good on preseason optimism leading many to believe they are the third best team in the Eastern Conference.
To that end, when Pierce isn’t telling his teammates of their new mindset, he’s apparently showing them. Marcin Gortat says his new teammate’s esteemed work ethic is already rubbing off on the rest of the roster.
“That’s what I think makes him great. He’s a true warrior. He’s a leader. I’ve been here for a week now and I work with him every day. I play with him every day. It’s ridiculous how people follow his lead,” Gortat said. “He shows up at the gym two hours before practice. Even young guys can’t beat him. That shows a lot. Everybody’s running, he’s not going to sit on the bench. We’re all going to run together. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem with him.”
Washington hardly lacked for physicality before Pierce’s arrival – Gortat and Nené make up arguably the strongest starting frontcourt in basketball. And despite the Wizards’ lack of recent success, John Wall’s bravado certainly didn’t let them play without confidence.
But mental strength and confidence are attributes that are forged, and Washington’s roster is littered with young players and veterans that haven’t experienced much playoff success. Pierce has, and only after years of toiling away his prime with undermanned Celtics team before Garnett arrived in 2007. He knows what it takes to build a perennial contender, and it starts with effort and intensity that helps forge the inner-toughness for which Pierce has been so lauded over the second half of his career.
Pierce isn’t an All-Star level player anymore, but his influence on the Wizards can loom that large regardless. And if his initial days with the team are any indication, we’d be remiss to expect anything less.
What do you think?
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