I thought he deserved to sneak on the 3rd team. Sure, Kobe had better numbers, but his team didn't have equal or greater success. What really bothered me was that Pierce wasn't even that close. Even Jason Kidd had more votes than him. I'm curious as to when the voting took place and whether or not PP's elbow affected the vote.
Well, here's my take on the whole situation (if it counts for anything.) After the Celtic's season ended and all was said and done, most of the trash talking against Pierce and Walker was spearheaded by the sportswriters of America, the same people who vote on the All-NBA teams. Personally, I think the All-NBA teams, aside from a couple of players, were wide open this year. Most people don't remember Pierce's buzzer shot against Portland, his stellar performances against big teams and his ability to become more of a team player and put up great numbers in all categories. As you said Thrilla, Kobe had bigger numbers... but the sportswriters also owed him something. After all of the bashing done on him last year for his court sentence the writers I feel give him more credit, as well as the fact that Shaq left and he's all alone now. To me, it's somewhere between a sympathy vote and a surprised vote. However, Pierce did win the head to head matchup with Kobe and more importantly the Lakers. Shouldn't that be what matters?
I agree with the notion that Pierce shouldve been on the team instead of Kobe...Pierce's team had better success, and they put up relatively the same numbers...however, its a close match...writers may say how Pierce had the better supporting cast and team and how Kobe did most on his own, but thats neither here nor there...I feel that Pierce deserved it...
