Paul Pierce moves up the scoring list

A Tuesday night game against a depressingly awful Bobcats team doesn't appear on paper to be anything to get overly excited about, but it actually became a special night to remember.  A win was nice, considering it was their 5th straight victory and 9th in their last 10 games, but Paul Pierce made the game mean so much more than that.

Early in the third quarter, Pierce hit a three pointer from the right wing to pass Larry Bird for second place on the Celtic's all-time scoring list.  Any time you can pass Larry Legend on any list it's bound to grab the attention of Boston fans.  Once Pierce's shot splashed through the bottom of the net, the Garden crowd erupted in support of the Celtics captain for his great accomplishment. 

Pierce would later admit how much of a relief it was to finally have this milestone behind him.  He seemed to be noticeably pressing in the first half, when he missed 7 of his first 10 shots.  The crowd held it's collective breath as Pierce launched a three with time running out in the half, which nearly sent him to the locker room at halftime with the milestone in hand, only to watch the ball rim out.  Like any great drama, the suspense of this quest would have to be drawn out just a little longer.

After being relieved of the pressure of his pursuit of moving up on the team's scoring list, Pierce seemed noticeably relaxed in the second half, as he helped lead his team to victory.  He would finish with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, reminding us that scoring is hardly his only contribution to this team. 

Larry Bird spent 13 seasons in Boston before back and ankle ailments forced him into a premature retirement.  He finished his career with 21,791 points in 897 regular season games, for a career scoring average of 24.3 points per game.  Pierce, in his 14th season, has already played more games than Bird did and trails the Hall of Famer in career average with 22.1 points per game.

Pierce currently sits at 21,797 points for his career, which has been spent entirely in a Celtics uniform.  At 34 years old and two years remaining on the extension he signed prior to last season, Pierce has a chance to become the first big star to spend his entire career with the Celtics since Bird.  With the Celtics likely forced into a rebuilding mode after this season, it remains to be seen if Pierce will be willing to stay with the only franchise he's ever known past his current deal.  He may even be ready to retire by then.  The amnesty clause in the new CBA presents another wild card, as the team may decide in it's rebuilding process that the $15 million they owe Pierce in each of the next two seasons could be better spent in addressing other roster needs.

Assuming Pierce does finish his career in Boston, next in his sites would be John Havlicek's franchise record of 26,395.  If he continues to average around 18 points a game for the remainder of the season, Pierce should finish this season less than 4,000 points away from Havlicek.  At his current pace, as well as assuming reasonable health, Pierce would need at least one additional year in Boston past his current deal to catch Havlicek.  While the future of the team is about as murky as trying to predict the productivity of a player in his mid-30's that is quickly approaching the 1,000 games barrier (that's not even factoring in pre-season or playoff games), the franchise scoring record is certainly within reach.

Regardless of where he plays, Pierce also has a chance to move into the top 25 on the league's all-time scoring list.  He currently sits at 28th on that list.  Two of his current future Hall of Fame teammates, Kevin Garnett (19th) and Ray Allen (24th), already reside in that elite category.

As exciting as breaking the franchise record would be as a personal accomplishment, Pierce currently has his eyes on more of a big picture goal. 

"I think the fans will really appreciate another championship, (more) than me passing Hondo," Pierce said. "So that's my ultimate goal."

In the spirit of a true team player, the captain has let it be known that winning another title is more important than any individual goal.  Then again, who says he can't accomplish both?  If the Celtics are going to win another title anytime soon, they will surely need to lean on Pierce's scoring ability to get there.  Even if Pierce ends up falling short of another championship ring or the franchise scoring record, there's no doubting that Pierce is one of the greatest players in Celtics history.  That's saying a lot, from a team with a league best 17 NBA titles and a long list of Hall of Famers.  When it's all said and done, Pierce will be remembered as one of the greats, along with the likes of Bird, Havlicek, and Russell.  That's "The Truth.