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The Washington Wizards came a few inches and seconds away from playing in the Eastern Conference Finals, but instead Nene Hilario failed to box out Al Horford in Game 5 and Paul Pierce hit a buzzer-beater in Game 6 that left his hand just one tick too late. It was a truly gut-wrenching way for the Wizards to close out their season, and so it came as no surprise when Pierce gave some indication afterwards that this postseason might have been his final run.
Pierce has a player option on his contract for next season, and the ball is now appropriately in the hands of “The Truth” this summer. His head coach Randy Wittman would obviously kill to have the veteran and future Hall of Famer return next year.
“I’d love him back. I think he wants to be back. I don’t know, I won’t put words in his mouth, but I’d be surprised if he didn’t,” Wittman said to the Washington Post. “I think what he saw with these guys and the heart this team has. Why wouldn’t you want to play the end of your career with a group like that?”
The only negative answer to this question would be if the game now takes too much of a mental and physical toll on Pierce; however, there are still many good reasons for him to play.
Even though Pierce averaged career lows almost across the board during the regular season, he was a bombastic and swaggering giant during the playoffs and almost laid waste to both the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks with buzzer-beaters and trash talk. His comments on and off the court helped lead the Wizards to play with confidence, and he would be sorely missed by John Wall and Bradley Beal next season with a retirement decision.
Pierce averaged 14.6 PPG during the playoffs on 48.5 percent shooting, including 52.4 percent from 3-point range, and he clearly still has a little game left. Here is hoping that “The Truth” comes back for one more run, because the Wizards have a real shot to win the title next year by going through a truly weak Eastern Conference.
Dave Daniels is a Washington Wizards Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter: @AllDave_AllDay, like him on Facebook here or add him to your network on Google.
