Blakely: Faith in Celtics franchise key to Pierce's success

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BOSTONBoston Celtics coach Doc Rivers is not one to get too caught up in milestones reached by his players, especially when it's obvious when that attention throws his players off their game.

But there was a different, more accepting vibe surrounding Paul Pierce's chase for the No. 2 spot on the Celtics' all-time scorer's list as it came to a head in Tuesday night's 94-84 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.

Pierce finished with 15 points - he only needed 10 to pass Larry Bird for the No. 2 spot behind John Havlicek.

To see Pierce continue to climb the Mt. Everest of Celtics greats, further establishing that he belongs, Rivers can appreciate the historical relevancy of what he was a witness to Tuesday night.

And while so much of the focus was on Pierce's scoring accomplishment, Rivers was more in awe of the journey; a journey that he's convinced few players will be up for trekking through in the future.

"Paul had a chance to leave us when we were bad," Rivers said. "And instead of moaning that he wanted to go to a championship team, he stayed. And he said, 'I simply want to be a Celtic and I trust that we're going to win a title some day.'"

That kind of faith, that kind of trust, doesn't exist in this generation's NBA.

You can count on one hand the number of players that might stick with a franchise long enough to achieve such a lofty perch among a team's all-time scorers.

Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dirk Nowitzki with the Dallas Mavericks.

Kevin Durant with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Derrick Rose in Chicago and maybe Dwyane Wade in Miami, although as Rivers points out with Wade, "you know, Dwyane Wade has added some friends, but he's never left Miami. So there are still some good cases."

No disrespect to any of those franchises, but none have the history, the track record of greatness, of the Celtics.

Paul Pierce has established himself as a shoe-in Hall of Famer, and yet you would be hard-pressed to find a spot for him among the top five all-time great Celtics players.

Bryant. Nowitzki. Durant.

They're all top-five greats with their respective franchises.

Ditto for Wade.

As for Rose, the only thing that could curtail his rise to the upper echelon of Bulls greats, would be an injury.

Kevin Garnett spent the first 12 years of his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

And like Pierce, he too saw his share of highs and lows as the franchise player that seemingly couldn't get his team over the hump.

Garnett understands all too well the business of basketball, which is why he too is appreciative of how both Pierce and the Celtics have remained loyal to one another through some incredibly difficult times on and off the court.

And now with the new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the player's union and the NBA owners, Garnett believes it makes moments like Tuesday - the celebration of a great player reaching a rare franchise milestone - much tougher to come by.

"The way that things went in negotiations (for a new CBA), created a lot of this," Garnett said. "With shorter contractswhen you're able to sign three, four-year, five-year max deals versus seven, it takes the longevity from the individual with the franchises. It makes it very hard to be with one franchise; and actually have those fans appreciate and see that player grow with that franchise, with that city.

Garnett added, "the business gets in the way of the love, and that's sad."

And when Garnett speaks about the lack of loyalty, he's not talking about it just being the owners.

"In this day and age, you have options and you're motivated to use those options," Garnett said. "Loyalty is rare these days, on both sides."

Which makes Pierce's achievement all the more special.

Pierce has often talked about having a place among the Celtics greats, and how special that is to him.

For Pierce, it always came back to one thing - faith.

Faith that the Celtics' brass would surround him with the right players, at the right time, and that eventually the Celtics would be a power - just like all the great teams and players that he heard about and got to know over time.

"Just knowing how great this franchise can be, knowing the history, knowing that once this franchise gets back to where it needs to be and if I'm a part of it, there's no other franchise like this in all of basketball," Pierce said. "You knew eventually it would turn around. I've just always been the optimist, just knowing eventually 'the next year, the next year' that's what I always kept saying to myself that it would eventually turn around and it took one summer for us to turn this thing around and I'm just thankful that my patience was able to pay off."

So as Pierce continues about his career with the Green Team, and more records are likely to be climbed, Celtics Nation needs to soak in every moment.

Because these times, these moments of acknowledging a living legend in the making, don't come around everyday.

"So it says a lot, see a guy like this come in here and be with one franchise, good and bad," Garnett said. "Hard times, stay with it, stay with it, stay with it; shows loyalty."

Garnett added, "to see him here with the fans, who've seen him beat up, on the bottom, being able to growto this, says a lot. The record is one thing, but it sends such a bigger message than just the surface. It couldn't happen to a better character person; a person who is hard working. That's what you want from a franchise player. You want someone who is willing to take those punches and then come out the corner swinging, still swinging even when he's on one knee. He continues to give everything he has, man."

So you can count Garnett among those to embrace and appreciate all the praise bestowed upon Pierce for his scoring milestone.

"That's going to be a rarity," a subdued Garnett said, "And that's sad."

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