On that play Tinsley was all in Pierce's face after the whistle, and Paul lightly used his arm to move Jamal off of him. Tinsley should have won the Acadamey Award it was a total acting job. No player falls from a play like that it was an act. It was only a bad play because it was late in an important Game 6. It wasn't a bad behavior play, it was a bad basketball play, only because of how Tinsley pulled off the acting job.
Every player changes from a rookie to a 12 year vet, Paul has always been a class act. This is a guy who grew up in LA as a Laker fan, got signed by Boston and stuck it out there for his entire hall of famer, championship(s) winning career. He didn't act like a little baby and complain to get back to his hometown. He should always be respected for that.
Come on now, im one of the biggest paul boosters around, he is the reason i became a basketball fan when he was drafted when i was 15. He is the heart and soul of this team.
But that was an immature play and an immature pouting session afterwords. It was embarrassingly uncomfortable at the time for the club and for paul.
It was part of paul growing from a young kid into the mature leader and celtic legend he is today, but let's not engage in revisionist history. He was being a jerk.
Steve is right, I love paul because of the journey he's taken to get to where he is today. It's why him accepting the Finals MVP trophy is my favorite moment from that whole season, but I'm not going to pretend thier are no rough edges to paul's legend.
They were, and to his never ending credit, he dealt with them like a man and now is the shining example of how you should conduct yourself as a NBA superstar. To pretend he's never had issues is to deny what makes him so unique and real as a player.