Now will Paul Pierce finally be recognized as an Elite player by national media?

[rondohondo]

What more does the guy have to do be recognized as a top 10 player in this league. He is the most overlooked superstar in the league and he showed it tonight. 41 points , 5 assists tonight and he stole the jump ball from lebron to pretty much seal the game. He also kept Lebron in check for 6 games in the series. The national media has to get off of kboe and lebrons jock and give PP his due . He is a GREAT PLAYER!!!

[PierceMVP08]

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!! I've been saying this FOREVER!!! I still say he's the best player on this team and everyone needs to recognize this.  I'm glad he finally got an MVP chant at the Garden.... HIS HOUSE!!

[cdif911]

Kobe and Lebron are still fantastic players - if Lebron had a supporting cast worth anything, we may not be having this conversation (but I sure as heck am glad we are) - but yes Pierce is a premier player in the league - the cavs did a solid job of shutting him down for most of the series, but he put the team on his back tonight, and said "I'm taking you to the promised land" - this is a performance for the ages (As I look up at my signed picture of Bird shooting over Nique) this one outdoes it IMO (B/c I'm old enough to appreciate it!) - go celts!

[jackson_34]

Yer but lebron scored more and then they'll show some footage of him crying or holding his head in his hands, and the whole focus will switch straight back to LBJ.  

But oh man, what a top game by pierce! I loved when they put up the graphic of all-time performances in a game 7, and pierce's name then gets mentioned alongside bill russell, bird, magic etc....

[BadBoyBosh]

so i just went to espn.com and the front page say "C's Survive Lebron".  I don't know about you but that made me angry.  Lebron is glorified by the media, gets a majority of calls, and when a foul isn't called on one of his drives he looks around with a stupid look on his face.  The front page should read "Pierce Dominates"

[SShoreFan]

Phenomenal game today, but I cannot put Paul into the Elite level.  He's too sporadic, the elite players very very rarely throw out a clunker and Paul can.

Loved today's game as much as anyone, but let's not get carried away.

[Amir]

1)KG
2)Kobe
3)Lebron
4)Paul
5)Duncan
6)Howard
7)D-Williams
8)PP
9)Ginobili
10)Nowitzki


Absolutely top 10!!!

[CoachBo]

Many of that 10 list play with the loving arms of the league's officials around them - the three- or four-step dribbleless roll to the hole, the fiEdited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.l of shirt that turns into a steal, etc.

Pierce does not, and neither does Garnett.

Both belong in the 10 list.

[tanner]

so i just went to espn.com and the front page say "C's Survive Lebron".  I don't know about you but that made me angry.  Lebron is glorified by the media, gets a majority of calls, and when a foul isn't called on one of his drives he looks around with a stupid look on his face.  The front page should read "Pierce Dominates"

Yeah, Paul comes up with the greatest game and they make it still about Lebron.  They changed the heading in NBA page--'Truth Wins Out".

[RockinRyA]

so i just went to espn.com and the front page say "C's Survive Lebron".  I don't know about you but that made me angry.  Lebron is glorified by the media, gets a majority of calls, and when a foul isn't called on one of his drives he looks around with a stupid look on his face.  The front page should read "Pierce Dominates"

yeah i agree.. and game 6 should also have read "REFS DOMINATE"

[SShoreFan]

so i just went to espn.com and the front page say "C's Survive Lebron".  I don't know about you but that made me angry.  Lebron is glorified by the media, gets a majority of calls, and when a foul isn't called on one of his drives he looks around with a stupid look on his face.  The front page should read "Pierce Dominates"

yeah i agree.. and game 6 should also have read "REFS DOMINATE"

CBSSportsline and FOXSports both have Pierce as the main story.

[LarBrd33]

Well... Pierce had his hands tied trying to defend LeBron all series.  Really though... guys like Bron and Kobe do it consistently game by game.  I'm pretty sure the night Pierce had a career high... Bron had 50+ and outscored him.  Again tonight was probably the greatest game of Paul's career... and Bron outscored him.   

But it was definitely a remarkable performance and one that should go down in history.  All week we've been hearing about how the Celtics had no big time scorer who could take over a game.  Pierce just showed up and shoved it down the throats of the media.   Epic epic game.   Amazing.

[celtics2]

"Phenomenal game today, but I cannot put Paul into the Elite level.  He's too sporadic, the elite players very very rarely throw out a clunker and Paul can.

Loved today's game as much as anyone, but let's not get carried away."

Can't imagine not getting carried away after what Pierce did today. The offense has to go though Pierce, Garnett and Allen in that order. I remember lots of Bird clunkers. Pierce knows he's an elite, I know it, most Celtic fans know it.

[CelticSteve]

Pierce was great today, and overall I would put him on the lower end of elite players- but I do think he is in the elite class- because he can create his own shot at will and can take over the game and carry his team. To move up toward the top of the list, I think he needs to be smarter with the ball. Even with his performance today, for those of us who remember Larry Bird- a true top elite player, you can still tell the difference. Pierce would need to do what he did today more consistnetly and play with more intensity to climb to that ladder. But that's a high bar to set- and to be fair to Pierce, you need to recognize that he is a great BB player.

[ManchesterCelticsFan]

Pierce was great today, and overall I would put him on the lower end of elite players- but I do think he is in the elite class- because he can create his own shot at will and can take over the game and carry his team. To move up toward the top of the list, I think he needs to be smarter with the ball. Even with his performance today, for those of us who remember Larry Bird- a true top elite player, you can still tell the difference. Pierce would need to do what he did today more consistnetly and play with more intensity to climb to that ladder. But that's a high bar to set- and to be fair to Pierce, you need to recognize that he is a great BB player.

Exactly. I get mad when PP plays without being mentally sharp, playing borderline selfish basketball at times, not driving to the rim enough, because I knew he's capable of games like this. He needs to realize what he means to this team when he plays the right way and hopefully tonights performance amplifies that. Hopefully this foreshadows that he's maturing as a player.