638: 225: Unruly Child (Asking for Monthly Votes!) 638: 225: Unruly Child (Asking for Monthly Votes!) The preparation period for this season was extrely tight, and most players were pushed onto the court before they were ready.
But this gave those who were well-prepared early on a chance to shine brightly.
Paul Pierce was one of them.
In the season opener against last season’s finals arch-rival Utah Jazz, Paul Pierce put up a perfect stat line of 19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks!
There couldn’t have been a more perfect NBA debut; Pierce showcased his versatility to the fullest.
The Atlanta fans cheered wildly; it was like a complete upgrade from Stevie Smith!
He had the off-ball offense of Stevie Smith, but also ball-handling abilities that Stevie Smith didn’t possess.
Most importantly, he played impressively on the defensive end.
The pre-draft scouting reports had said that Pierce’s defense had improved over his three years in college, transforming from an offensive player who could only attack into an outstanding two-way wing.
Today, his much-criticized defense was exceptional.
The whole world was praising Pierce, only Roger told him, “Your defense can’t always rely on luck.”
Pierce laughed it off, muttering in his heart, “Luck?
4 steals and 2 blocks, that’s the total of your and Scott’s defensive stats!”
Of course, he didn’t voice his thoughts, but nodded vigorously, “Okay, Roger, yes, Roger.”
“Gambling on steals and blocks won’t always work.
You perford excellently today, but you’re too arrogant,” Roger continued to caution.
Pierce’s defense wasn’t solid; he liked to gamble on steals and blocks too much.
If he had faced soone like Bryon Russell with great ball-handling skills today, then every attempt at a steal would have put him out of position, and he would have been played every ti he tried to block.
Pierce felt dejected.
Why was Roger being so harsh?
Why was he always on my case?
Maybe that’s why so players disliked playing with Roger?
Pierce was displeased, but he didn’t openly resist; he stuck to the old routine to deal with Roger: “Yes, yes, you are right.”
Pierce’s only trick to deal with Roger was one word: yield.
Pierce wasn’t like Kobe who had ‘leader-itis’; within a team, he didn’t care if he was the number one star.
Even as a young player, even when facing the habitually reckless Antoine Walker, Pierce had never had any conflict with him.
Pierce even confronted Rivers after Walker left, “Pass the ball?
To whom should I pass?
You guys got rid of Antwone, who do I pass the ball to?”
So, Pierce was willing to be Roger’s deputy, willing to decrease his number of shots, willing to show weakness in front of Roger.
The only thing he couldn’t stand was Roger’s lecturing.
He didn’t like being disciplined, didn’t like being told what to do, and he wouldn’t listen.
His father had abandoned the family when he was six years old, and had never supervised him.
Most importantly, Pierce knew his father was alive and living in Northern California.
They knew of each other’s existence.
But his father just didn’t care about the welfare of his family, not even coming to visit once.
So, Pierce developed a rebellious mindset: OK, if you don’t care, then don’t.
No one cares about , I can still live well, I’ll live just to show you!
Over ti, Pierce resisted being disciplined.
Because he felt he didn’t need it, he could handle everything himself, and no one had the right to discipline him.
It was the sa with Roger, he was willing to be Roger’s deputy, but he hated being lectured by Roger like a father or an elder brother.
But Pierce knew, he couldn’t resist Roger’s lecturing head-on, as that would end very badly.
So he chose to “yield,” this ace up his sleeve to deal with Roger.
Essentially, it was a form of evasion.
And it worked.
From the preseason camp until now, this trick had always been very effective.
Every ti Roger faced Pierce’s nodding and bowing attitude, he would be sowhat at a loss, unable to get angry.
But nodding and bowing were just surface behaviors; no matter how well Pierce took the criticism, he would make the sa mistakes the next ti.
Just like that classic line from the movie: I tell you, but you don’t listen; you listen, but you don’t understand; you understand, but you don’t do it; you do it, but you do it wrong; you make a mistake, but you don’t admit it; you admit it, but you don’t correct it; you correct it, but you don’t accept it; if you don’t accept it, you don’t speak up, what am I supposed to do?
Roger had spoken about Pierce’s defensive issues more than once, and he had discussed it with Pierce during the preseason.
Pierce told Roger that he had a habit in defense that he called a “break.”
In so gas, his defense was very energetic.
But he thought he earned the right to give himself a “break” after one good defensive ga, slackening in several consecutive gas.
Roger thought this was absurd and told him that defense should be earnest in every ga; that’s what a champion player does.
Pierce nodded vigorously: “Ah yes, yes.”
But it was futile.
He typically would be sleepwalking on defense by the second ga.
Sure enough, the sa thing happened again.
After the opening ga, all of Atlanta was cheering, thinking the Hawks had picked a gem.
But in the second regular season ga, Pierce imdiately proved all those who had high hopes for him wrong.
In the second ga against the extraordinarily strong Heat, the biggest rival of the Hawks in the East this year, Pierce let Allan Houston score 22 points in just the first half.
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