<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Paul Pierce will return to town soon, settling into his suburban home in preparation for the start of training camp Oct. 4. Maybe you will see him driving his customized Celtics-themed truck with images of the TD Banknorth Garden parquet inside. Maybe not. With the exception of a cameo at the Las Vegas summer league in mid-July, a visit with executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge at the Celtics' practice facility a couple weeks ago, and two brief conversations with coach Doc Rivers during the summer, Pierce kept a low profile and his distance from the organization in the offseason. He also kept his thoughts about the future to himself, until he was reached by phone last night in Los Angeles. For the first time since the Celtics' opening-round loss to the Pacers in May, Pierce talked publicly about his ejection for swiping at Jamaal Tinsley in the playoffs and the infamous bandaged-jaw press conference that followed, his young teammates, the offseason trade rumors, the Celtics' new code of conduct, and karaoke. ''I think I got a real bad rap from the [first-round playoff] series and it kind of stuck with me," said Pierce. ''I feel people view me like a different person now, especially after the Tinsley incident. That's how I feel. People have mixed emotions about me. I think people are confused about me now. I think that series made everybody look at me like a bad guy or something. And that's not right. The whole shirt off, the whole everything was taken the wrong way. ''People have got to understand this is a sport. You go through roller-coaster rides emotionally. You react to certain things and things happen and then it's over with. Am I a bad person? Of course not. I've never gotten into any trouble off the court. I conduct myself in a good manner. I'm an emotional person on the court, but that's about it. I apologized for [what happened] and left it there. It's over and done with.</div> Source
First and foremost I will start off with Paul Pierce is the man if you view him differently now because of that playoff series you are making a huge mistake. Anyone in the middle of a hectic, tight game would have emotions like that also. I love how Pierce is explaining himself Finnaly and I love what he says here: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">''People have got to understand this is a sport. You go through roller-coaster rides emotionally. You react to certain things and things happen and then it's over with. Am I a bad person? Of course not. I've never gotten into any trouble off the court. I conduct myself in a good manner. I'm an emotional person on the court, but that's about it. I apologized for [what happened] and left it there. It's over and done with.</div> Pierce explained himself pretty clearly there and I agree 100% I hope the best for him and Celtics next season.
People get on PP's case for nothing, most of the time. Last year he may not have performed to his capabilities, but he still plays hard and wins games for the Celtics single handedly. He never demanded a trade or whined like some of the other superstars at his level do, so Celtic fans and Danny Ainge in particular should be thankful for that.
