Paul Pierce is the most underrated player in the NBA

[kgiessler]

These are the types of posts that make him overrated. No way is he a top 5 player (Kobe, Lebron, CP3, Howard and Wade come to mind, as in they alone are good enough to carry an okay team into at least the 2nd round of the playoffs -- Pierce isn't). Yes, he helped lead our team to glory, but he needed KG and the whole gang.

Disagree.  Pierce doesn't have the talent of LeBron, he doesn't play as effective a position as Paul or Howard, but he also hasn't had the coaching or the talent around him that Kobe and Wade have had.  I agree that up until this year, Pierce couldn't take a team to the second round, but now?  Who knows.

What?  When I read the first post, I ignored it because I thought Pierce had taken a crappy team not only to the second round, but also to the eastern conference finals several years ago.  Guys like Mark Blount, Antoine Walker, and a bunch of guys that aren't even in the league anymore.  People that looked good playing next to Pierce who became nothing but malcontents on teams and contracts GMs couldn't wait to get rid of.  Infact, looking back at most of the players that Pierce has ever played with, thats exactly what he did, made his teammates look like much better players than they actually were.

But now there are two people saying Pierce can't take a team to the second round.  Am I remembering things incorrectly?  Didn't this happen?

[johnnyrondo]

These are the types of posts that make him overrated. No way is he a top 5 player (Kobe, Lebron, CP3, Howard and Wade come to mind, as in they alone are good enough to carry an okay team into at least the 2nd round of the playoffs -- Pierce isn't). Yes, he helped lead our team to glory, but he needed KG and the whole gang.

Has Wade carried a team at least into the second round alone? Wade had Shaq. Pierce had KG. Pierce also took another team into the 3rd round with its second best player being Antione Walker.

Personally, I think Pierce played like a top 5 player during this postseason and probably now should be considered top 10, but not for long due to age unfortunately. It's interesting to read Ainge's recent comments on Pierce as he compared him to DJ, basically saying neither of them played hard all the time, but when they took it to that highest level they were great. I believe Ainge wondered why they wouldn't try that hard all the time.

[ACF]

It's safe to say he carried
this team. He was the captain
being The Captain. Heck, the captain
being THE CAPTAIN...
Ladies and gents, may I introduce
to you:
Mr. Paul "UNDERRATED NO MORE" Pierce!

[Robb]

Has Wade carried a team at least into the second round alone?

Yes, the year before they got Shaq it was Butler, Wade and Odom led by Stan Van and they took it to the second round. 

What?  When I read the first post, I ignored it because Pierce had taken a crappy team not only to the second round, but also to the eastern conference finals several years ago.  Guys like Mark Blount, Antoine Walker, and a bunch of guys that aren't even in the league anymore.  People that after their stints playing next to Pierce became nothing but malcontents on teams and contracts GMs couldn't wait to get rid of.

But now there are two people saying Pierce can't take a team to the second round.  Am I remembering things incorrectly?  Didn't this happen?

Granted I don't remember everything about that season, but from what I can recall Antoine was pretty good in his own right and was definitely a very vocal leader.  I do remember the stat that Pierce and Antoine were responsible for a greater percentage of their teams points than anyone in the league except Kobe and Shaq.  I don't think that he could have gotten out of the first round that year by himself.

I didn't make a very good point, I'll admit.  I think that Pierce, playing the way he did on both ends this season could have led a team out of the first round if it was only his team, but I don't know if that could be said before this year.

[RockinRyA]

he was underated. not so much now

here in our country, few really knows who paul pierce is. when he went to our school they said "who?" oh but when t-mac came over they say "cmon guys lets go see tmac!"

just look at the ratings in nba live. cmon shawn marion is 91 and pierce is 89?! (kg is always at the top of its ratings) it was only in nba live 2003 that PP did really well on their ratings(not surprised after 2002)

my gf, a casual nba fan said upon watching pp play the first time said "i dont know him, but yeah hes good!"

oh, she thought vince carter was really doing well in the nba "then why is he well known?"

just because he does nothing fancy means hes not that good

[EarthBall]

Disagree.  Pierce doesn't have the talent of LeBron, he doesn't play as effective a position as Paul or Howard, but he also hasn't had the coaching or the talent around him that Kobe and Wade have had.  I agree that up until this year, Pierce couldn't take a team to the second round, but now?  Who knows.

Robb, you disagree and agree? I'm confused. I said that Pierce alone couldn't (and still can't) take his team out of the second round. He doesn't have to try anymore so there is no way of finding out whether he is better. Or do you disagree about my top 5? I really can't see how anyone can think PP is better than Kobe or Wade. Sure, Wade was injured (had he been healthy, the Heat surely would've made it to the second round - the refs love him that much).

What?  When I read the first post, I ignored it because I thought Pierce had taken a crappy team not only to the second round, but also to the eastern conference finals several years ago.  Guys like Mark Blount, Antoine Walker, and a bunch of guys that aren't even in the league anymore.  People that looked good playing next to Pierce who became nothing but malcontents on teams and contracts GMs couldn't wait to get rid of.  Infact, looking back at most of the players that Pierce has ever played with, thats exactly what he did, made his teammates look like much better players than they actually were.

But now there are two people saying Pierce can't take a team to the second round.  Am I remembering things incorrectly?  Didn't this happen?

kgiessler -- As much as I hate 'Toine, he was an All-star in 2002 and 2003, the two years the Celtics went to at least the second round. Given the weak East, it wasn't *that* bad of a team.

[cdif911]

if you think the Truth is underrated, what about this guy:



and for those of us under 10:



he's got it right in his name, underdog....

[MrsNumba17]

Pierce is all that and then some!!!

Fear the shamrock baby!!!

[saibnel]

These are the types of posts that make him overrated. No way is he a top 5 player (Kobe, Lebron, CP3, Howard and Wade come to mind, as in they alone are good enough to carry an okay team into at least the 2nd round of the playoffs -- Pierce isn't). Yes, he helped lead our team to glory, but he needed KG and the whole gang.

PP did carry a very "ok" team to the second round of the playoffs hte 02-03 team was garbage, toine was already on the down side and he single handedly destroyed the 3rd seeded pacers and artest in the first round..

Paul can not be considered top 5 in my opinion but he could be slotted anywhere from 7 to 15 and have a very strong case. I dont think wade is the all around player PP is.

[saibnel]

Disagree.  Pierce doesn't have the talent of LeBron, he doesn't play as effective a position as Paul or Howard, but he also hasn't had the coaching or the talent around him that Kobe and Wade have had.  I agree that up until this year, Pierce couldn't take a team to the second round, but now?  Who knows.

Robb, you disagree and agree? I'm confused. I said that Pierce alone couldn't (and still can't) take his team out of the second round. He doesn't have to try anymore so there is no way of finding out whether he is better. Or do you disagree about my top 5? I really can't see how anyone can think PP is better than Kobe or Wade. Sure, Wade was injured (had he been healthy, the Heat surely would've made it to the second round - the refs love him that much).

What?  When I read the first post, I ignored it because I thought Pierce had taken a crappy team not only to the second round, but also to the eastern conference finals several years ago.  Guys like Mark Blount, Antoine Walker, and a bunch of guys that aren't even in the league anymore.  People that looked good playing next to Pierce who became nothing but malcontents on teams and contracts GMs couldn't wait to get rid of.  Infact, looking back at most of the players that Pierce has ever played with, thats exactly what he did, made his teammates look like much better players than they actually were.

But now there are two people saying Pierce can't take a team to the second round.  Am I remembering things incorrectly?  Didn't this happen?

kgiessler -- As much as I hate 'Toine, he was an All-star in 2002 and 2003, the two years the Celtics went to at least the second round. Given the weak East, it wasn't *that* bad of a team.

Toine's allstar seasons were laughable - he scored 20.1 per game on 19.9 shots, he was a hugely overrated player. The point of taking a team to the second round by yourself is useless can not be proven. It is completely subjective based on how you feel about the other players on a stars team. Yeah PP couldnt get a 19 year old Al and company to the playoffs but that team won 4 out of 28 games without him and was 20-24 with him, that is a HUGE disparity.

Skill set wise I think PP is better then wade, cant touch lebron or kobe however

[Eja117]

I don't think he's top five.  He's top fifteen, and arguably, top ten. 

The other day I saw a poll asking if PP is Hall of Fame. I know he's not perfect and only won 3rd team All-NBA twice but according to espn Pierce is one of 11 players in NBA history with career averages of 23 points, six rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

I don't know who the other ten are. If they are all from his era it weakens his case


I think at this point there are very few wings who are better than him. If you trade Vince for PP I think the Celts get worse and the Nets get better. Part of the reason I think is that PP has taken care of himself and makes good life decisions.  He may not be the MOST talented but he gets EVERYTHING he can out of his talent. A guy like Kobe, Iverson or Melo or Vince may have more talent but then they get distracted by drugs, posses, snitching, fast food, money, women, fame, etc.  Right now maybe the only wing I'd take over him would be Lebron

[wdleehi]

I think he might just make the top ten in terms of talent right now.



Top 15 when talking about guys you want to start a team around (to many young guys with high potential)




I don't think he is that underrated anymore.  Finals MVP probably fixed that.

[Jon]

I agree with the notion that Pierce's value is most favorably assessed in the here and now.  Obviously you'd look at younger players more favorably if you were going to start a team. 

While I tend to agree that he's not a top 5 talent, my only gripe with most "Top Player" lists is that they seem overly focused on players offensive abilities.  While I'd concede the ability to take over a game offensively is a big part of being a great player, I also think it's ludicrous to brush over defense.  As this past NBA Finals proved (and most NBA Finals have proven over the history of the league), good defense beats good offense. 

If that's the case AND if Pierce is as good defensively as some would claim, maybe he does deserve to be higher on some lists than some would give him credit for. 

[EarthBall]

Toine's allstar seasons were laughable - he scored 20.1 per game on 19.9 shots, he was a hugely overrated player. The point of taking a team to the second round by yourself is useless can not be proven. It is completely subjective based on how you feel about the other players on a stars team. Yeah PP couldnt get a 19 year old Al and company to the playoffs but that team won 4 out of 28 games without him and was 20-24 with him, that is a HUGE disparity.

Skill set wise I think PP is better then wade, cant touch lebron or kobe however

1) Sure Toine was a bit overrated, but he was an All Star who was the vocal leader of his team -- Wade didn't have nearly that kind of player on his team during his rookie season (Eddie Jones and Lamar Odom aren't horrible, but they aren't All-Star leaders).

2) Really, PP has better skills than Wade? That might be an interesting debate topic. I always thought Wade was a better scorer. Defense, I'm not sure.

3) Well of course, this is subjective. The topic is about PP being underrated (how one feels about him). I feel that if you put him on a fair team with no very good to great players, the team won't make the 2nd round. I'm not trying to prove anything. This is how I feel.   

[sk7326]

Pierce has always had the defense in him, but he expended so much energy on offense that he often simply was not used as a primary defender -- save energy and fouls because he had to be out there.  This year, with more offensive options, the ball was in his hands less on offense, and the system demanded less of him on that side of the floor.  Different areas of emphasis, and then this team's DESIRE to defend from day 1 drove him as much as anybody.  I mean Ray Allen, a notorious turnstyle played excellent bad defense (if you are a bad defender, you can play excellent bad defense by steering a guy to help -- team defense as it were). 

If he is not asked to be the primary guy on every offensive set, his energy is well managed and he can be used to influence the game defensively as well.