The Wizards will go as far as Paul Pierce takes them


Just in case you tuned out of the NBA playoffs once green started to fade from the picture, consider this your warning to jump back in. 

Former Celtics Captain and current Washington Wizard Paul Pierce is taking the NBA playoffs by storm.

Clutch shots. Talking trash.

Nothing Celtics fans aren't used to when it comes to our old friend Paul.
In the Wizards 104-98 Game 1 win over the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, Pierce dropped 19 points and grabbed 3 boards. However, this is just the most recent in what has been a fun playoff run for The Truth.

With a young core in John Wall and Bradley Beal, Pierce has been cast as the old veteran to lead the Wizards through the trials and tribulations of the NBA playoffs and has been doing so masterfully.

He kicked things off in Game 1 last series against the Raptors nailing a team high 20 points in the playoff opener.
    

In Game 3 of that series with Toronto, Pierce dropped 11 fourth quarter points grabbing the door and slamming it shut with this gem after his Wizards completed the sweep.
So how far can these Wizards go?

Well the Game 1 win against Atlanta on Sunday certainly has them going in the right direction.
And if the Wizards win on Tuesday you can basically book your plane ticket to either Cleveland or Chicago. Paul Pierce led teams are undefeated (14-0) when they lead a series by two games.

Washington will go as far as Pierce takes them and that could honestly be pretty far. I don't think anyone has a huge amount of faith in the Hawks as a legitimate threat in the East and the Wizards should be able to handle them in as many as 6 games.

If they do move on to meet the Bulls, it should be a more physical series between the two. Washington took the season series 3-2, but they still pose a tougher out than Atlanta or Brooklyn with a healthy Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah.

Their best path to the Finals, surprisingly enough, would be against LeBron James and the Kevin Love-less Cavs.

The reason is as simple as that.

With Kevin Love gone, it allows the Wizards front-court to focus primarily on James. Then Bradley Beal and John Wall could rotate back and forth defending Kyrie Irving. A tough break and a bad matchup for the Cavs even though Pierce is 13-17 against LeBron in the playoffs.

Whatever the end result, watching this renaissance of Paul Pierce and his run through the playoff is something to marvel at.

At the same time though it really isn't that much of a renaissance.

He's had an old man game since 1999.

Photo credit: Getty Images

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