Paul Pierce Talks Ime Udoka, NBA Title Picks, & Jayson Tatum’s MVP Season

Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen all joined forces to create one of the best teams of the late 2000s and early 2010s. They ended up winning a title together in 2008, and made it back to the Finals in 2010. Most basketball fans know this already. However, it is important to remind all of you that Pierce was that guy. In fact, just like Garnett and Allen, Pierce is in the Hall of Fame, and deservingly so.

Following his retirement, Pierce became an analyst on TV where he became known for his controversial takes and obvious Celtics bias. He was certainly one of the most entertaining voices over at ESPN, although now, he can be heard giving his opinions alongside Garnett for Showtime. Additionally, Pierce has been working on a whole host of different businesses. He continues to make strides in the Cannabis industry, and Pierce is investing in enough companies to keep him busy. Overall, it’s been a productive retirement for the Celtics legend.

Of course, the 2022-23 season started just a couple of months ago, and so far, it has been extremely interesting. Just like the rest of us, Pierce has been tapped in, and he has plenty to say on what he’s seen so far. With that said, we got to speak with The Truth for the latest edition of our “12 Days Of Christmas” series.

Throughout the interview, Pierce got to talk about the Celtics’ heartbreak from last year, the Ime Udoka situation, Jayson Tatum’s MVP campaign, and the difference between his era and the current one. You also may be surprised by who he thinks will be in the Finals this year.

This interview has been slightly edited for length and clarity

HNHH: Starting things off, when it comes to the season so far, what have your thoughts really been on the quality of basketball?

Paul Pierce: It’s been pretty good. You know, what is one thing that’s probably standing out the most to me? It’s kind of like the balance around the league. You know, you can’t just say one or two teams as contenders. I think you got about like six teams that can possibly win the championship this year. I really like some of the young teams who are thriving in the Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans. They’ve been a surprise early in the season. Obviously, we knew the Celtics will be good after they run last year. But when you look and you see Golden State, you know, they not in the top four right now. It just shows you how almost better everybody else has gotten. And I liked the balance across the league this year.

In terms of those young teams that are contending, you see Memphis and the Pelicans, you but they don’t have the same experience as a Golden State. So how do you think that will translate for them as the season goes on?

Man, you know, this is the way I look at it. Golden State was one of those young teams before too when they made the leap and they had to get over the hump of beating teams like San Antonio, who was in the middle of a dynasty or just finishing up. And so yeah, they don’t have experience which is why I believe that would give Golden State their advantage because of their experience, because they’ve been in deep playoff rounds, won championships, and these other teams are still learning how to win. So hopefully, they’ll use the regular season. For some of them who played in the playoffs last year, like Memphis and the Pelicans, they were in the playoffs last year. So they have a little experience. So hopefully, you know, they can gain confidence from that.

As a former Celtic obviously, you’re watching the team a lot. What do you think of their strong start to the season so far?

Yeah, I really expected them to come on really good, especially with the additions. Malcolm Brogdon really gave them some depth. I expect them to come on and be strong. Did I know they were gonna be this strong? I don’t know. But you know, right now, they look like the team to beat in the NBA. So they got strong play from the all-stars. Jayson Tatum looking like an MVP. Jaylen Brown is also looking like an MVP candidate too. So, you know those guys are playing well. They tough to beat.

Everyone is talking about Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as an elite duo right now. They were an elite duo last year. But now they’ve really sort of kicked it up a notch. Where would you rank them in terms of the duos across the NBA right now?

I think they’re the best duo right now. I mean, you look at what they’ve been able to accomplish this year, even last year, when you look at the numbers, the numbers don’t lie. Jayson has given them 30 points again, and Jaylen giving them like 27 a game. So I’ll put them right up there at the top. You know, this ain’t no disrespect to the other guys who have got really good players, because you can name guys like LeBron and Anthony Davis, Kyrie and Kevin Durant? Joel Embiid and James Harden, and a number of other young stars with their teams. Murray and Trae Young… but I think I do truly believe that the [Celtics] got the best duo.

Coming into this season for the Celtics, there was a bit of controversy. They have a new coach, although one that was already in the system. On your end, how difficult is it for a team to overcome that mental hurdle, especially at the start of a season? Or do you think it didn’t really matter since they already had that core together?

It’s easy for us to speculate because when it all happened… Ime Udoka got suspended. It was just like, what he was able to create? What kind of culture did he make and taking into the powers you thought would kind of like, put a dent in their armor? But it looked like they got the leadership from within. A lot of his coaches are still there. A lot of the same players. They just added a couple more players, but I just think the infrastructure was there. And you know, when you got leadership from within from the sidelines to the players, and it just carries over, no matter who’s head coach, and because these guys have been together, they’ve won together. And they know what it takes.

Going back to last season, you know, how hard was it for you personally to watch that Celtics team lose the finals to the Warriors, just having a personal attachment to that franchise?

It’s always tough. Game four was the game where I think Curry…That was the turning game. They got a chance to go up 3-1 and I just knew once they lost that game, I was like, ‘this ain’t right.’ They gave this team confidence and a courageous plan. Like the best player in basketball. So it definitely hurt. And I know they feel it more than me, because I was out there [once]. They knew that this was an opportunity, because you know, it’s hard to make it to the NBA Finals, and let alone winning. You can’t take that for granted.

What do you think the next step will have to be for this in order to get over the hump and be able to win a championship this time around? Because players like Jayson Tatum had it rough in the Finals.

Well, now that they’ve been on a big stage, they know what to expect. They showed that they was a veteran team, they didn’t get rattled in big moments. They understood the moment. Boston is a young team that has that experience now. So now, when that moment comes, they’ll know how to react better, and they will be better prepared. Not only for what it takes, and so on. And that’s that’s huge. You know, it’s tough when you’re going through your first finals against a team who’s been there, done that, you know, the lights, the media attention, all that can get to some young players, and you know, now that they’ve experienced it, I think there’ll be more equipped for it this time around.

As someone who won a title in Boston who knows what it is like to be on a dynasty in the making, do you think this current iteration of the Celtics has dynasty potential?

Well, yeah, I mean, I think the pieces are in place when you got two young stars like they do. A number of other young guys. Everything is in place, because when you looked at dynasties over the years, where you look at it, like how the Lakers did it when Kobe and Shaq were young, the San Antonio Spurs, the Golden State Warriors, you know, they had the infrastructure built with the young stars. And so that’s definitely there. But you got to get that first one. And once you get that first one under the belt, who knows what might happen with this thing?

In terms of the modern-day NBA, you look at a team like the Warriors and they’re probably the best example of a dynasty in the contemporary era. Especially with players always jumping around from team to team. What has been the key to the Warriors dynasty and what is the blueprint for future NBA dynasties, moving forward?

If they didn’t win that much, then you know, they wouldn’t be resigning these guys all the time and keeping them together. So you know, they gotta win. That’s what’s gotta happen for Boston to stay together and for these two guys to grow together. They gotta win. You know, they keep going to the finals and losing, you probably see a shakeout. Right now is their time. They are still young, they know they got two great players, and that’s what you can build around moving forward, but they got to win. And that’s how it always starts with culture. You know, Boston Celtics have created a great culture for winning and it starts at the top, also ownership, coaching staff all the way through.

I just want to know what your thoughts were on the Draymond Green and Jordan pool situation because that was such a viral moment for that team and it also had ramifications on their free agency situation.

Well, you know, it shouldn’t happen. I think Draymond knows that it shouldn’t happen. Him being the veteran leader… shouldn’t have ever come to that. And I know he realized he made a mistake. But you know, they can get past stuff like that. And I truly believe they’ve gotten past it. When you’re in a culture like the Golden State Warriors, what they have in their leadership and their locker room, they can sweep stuff like that under the rug, and move on.

Jumping into the difference between eras. You played in a more defense-heavy era. You guys always talk about how it was much tougher to play, it was more aggressive on the defensive end. Maybe expand on that and how the game has changed because now more than ever, we see guys putting up these insane 40-50-point games.

I mean, it’s not only the difference in eras. As time has gone on, they’ve adjusted certain defensive rules that really give an advantage to the offensive player. They don’t allow a lot of bumping, they don’t allow a lot of holding, you know, and so, they really try to preach freedom of movement. And so when you allow that, then the advantage, the advantage is always gonna go to the offensive player. And that’s why you’re seeing these guys putting up record-setting numbers, not just individually. Just the other day I saw Sacramento put up like 140-145 points. But it’s good for the guys. Guys are better shooters these days, from top to bottom, and that’s why we are seeing these types of numbers. 

In terms of just the young stars that are really dominating the game right now, who is somebody that you think could dominate in any era? Whether that be your era, the 90s, 80s, etc.

A lot of these guys. You got to figure that Kevin Durant, Kyrie, the Greek Freak. A lot of these guys will be dominant in any era… Jokic, The Joker. Steph Curry, of course.

Transitioning into your post-playing career, what are some projects that you’ve really been looking forward to doing or working on right now?

Right now, I’m doing the podcast with Kevin Garnett. We do our weekly podcast. I’ve just been doing a lot of investing in different companies. I’m working on putting together my documentary, as we speak, been doing stuff in the cannabis space, launching my brands in Boston, Phoenix, Ohio. And I’m gonna talk to somebody about starting my own long tequila brand. Why not?

What has it been like to sort of reconnect with Kevin Garnett and be able to do that show and just talk hoops all the time?

I mean, we just at the house chillin,’ man. We were really good friends. He lives five minutes from me, our kids go to school together. So it’s just natural for us to just kind of come together and talk hoops.

It’s still pretty early into the season but if you could pick an MVP right now, who would it be and why?

Right now, I gotta go with Jayson Tatum, man. I mean, because he’s leading the best team in basketball record-wise so far. He stepped his game up to another level. But it’s a long race, you know? But right now as of today, I gotta go with Jayson Tatum.

Just lastly, probably the Celtics are in there, but who do you think is probably destined for an NBA Finals appearance this year and who do you think is going to win, and in how many games?

Oh, I really see the Celtics are getting back in the finals. It’s gonna be tough because I believe it’s gonna be them and Milwaukee but I think the Celts are gonna win in seven games. I think it’s gonna be tough to find another team that can beat the Golden State Warriors in a seven-game series. It’s just hard for me to see them losing a seven-game series to anybody in the West, so I’m gonna go with them. I’m going with a rematch of last year.

Who do you got winning that series?

Celtics are winning in seven.

Awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time today. 

All right, no problem.