if Pierce really does think he's as good as Lebron and Kobe, now is the time to show it. If he gets hot, he's absolutely capable of carrying the team.
Not even, he just needs to come into the fourth quarter with fresh legs, hot or not.
This is a guy who has no problem drawing contact and getting to the line. And he can do that even during a cold streak, as long as the rest, keep us in the differential (2 to 4 possessions), coming into Q4, we win regardless.
When PP gets hot, however, the opponents get demoralized, that's the difference.