For Pierce, second Finals homecoming still special

By Peter F. Stringer
Celtics.com
June 1, 2010

LOS ANGELES -- Paul Pierce's childhood as a die-hard Lakers fan is well documented, but he put aside any emotional conflict about being a Celtic a long time ago. And having already beaten the Lakers as the Finals MVP, he's already been there and done that.

But that doesn't make this year's return to the Finals any less special.

As Pierce addressed a horde of Boston media after Monday's practice in Waltham about an hour before the team departed for the West Coast, the captain was all smiles about heading home on another big-time business trip.

"To be a part of the Finals in the place where I grew up makes it even more special," Pierce said, noting that the only negative about his homecoming would be acquiring enough tickets for all of the friends and family he wants to be at the game cheering him on. "It's going to be pretty expensive, but it's going to be exciting to have my family and friends watching me in the NBA Finals again."

Pierce seems to relish the idea of winning another title against his hometown team, and while he admitted it's a little strange given where his loyalties were as a child, he thinks its more difficult for friends and family who've switched allegiance since Pierce donned Celtics green.

"It's more weird for them, they're only Celtics fans because of me," Pierce said. "For me, I've accepted the Celtics tradition, I'm a part of it, I'm here now and I'm full-blown Celtics. Even though I grew up in L.A., I'm just glad to be a part of history. This is the type of series that got me into basketball."

Talking about his memories from the 2008 Finals after a recent practice in Orlando, Pierce recalled the feeling of quieting the Staples Center with the Celtics' dramatic comeback win in Game 4 and hearing just cheers from his friends and family as the Celtics walked off the court with a 3-1 series edge.

Pierce expects a bigger challenge facing the Lakers this time around, given that the team won the title in 2009 and still has a bad taste in its collective mouth after losing the series in a 39-point blowout in Game 6 at the Garden in Boston.

"They're confident, man," Pierce said of the Lakers, noting that their loss to the Celtics in 2008 is something that sticks in their minds and that like the Celtics, they only hang championship banners. "This is a team that feels like this should be their third championship in a row."

Perhaps more relevant is the presence of Ron Artest, a longtime foil who's had multiple postseason battles with Pierce dating back to a the Indiana/Boston series in 2004 and 2005. Artest, long considered one of the league's best individual defensive players, will draw the task of slowing down Pierce and won't hesitate to use whatever means necessary to get under Pierce skin, or his jersey, for that matter.

"Even though he plays (the swingman spot), he plays like a power forward or center," Pierce said. "He likes to bang you, get into your body, grab you, hold you, pull your shorts down -- he's gonna try anything."

With so much at stake, Pierce knows to expect the kitchen sink from Artest and the Lakers. And you have to think that the Lakers brought Artest in specifically to deal with players like Pierce and LeBron James, both of whom were likely candidates to face the Lakers in the Finals when the season began.

But perhaps most telling was Pierce's encounter with Lakers coach Phil Jackson, whom he ran into in L.A. last summer shortly after the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic in the 2009 Finals.

"He was in a convertible," Pierce said. "He said, 'See ya next year in the Finals.' "