Clippers forward Paul Pierce spent one year with the Wizards in 2014-15 where he played alongside John Wall, gave him some sound advice, and made a playoff game winner that will always remain dear to our hearts.
Despite his time in D.C., it wasn’t enough for Pierce to say that Wall is the best point guard in the Eastern Conference. In a press conference on Saturday, Pierce said that Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas was “easily” the best point guard in the East.
Here’s what he specifically said on Saturday before the Clippers’ game against the Celtics on Sunday:
Paul Pierce on Isaiah Thomas: “Man, that boy Isaiah is killing. … He’s easily the best point guard in the Eastern Conference."
— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) February 4, 2017
There are some reasons as to why Pierce may consider Thomas the better point guard than Wall:
- Pierce is a Celtic for life. He will always be known as one given his 15 years in Bean Town (1998-2013). Along the way, Pierce embraced Boston as his home. Even after he left the Celtics, he still openly supported them while he was playing for the Nets, Wizards, or Clippers. Don’t get me wrong. It was great seeing him in Monumental Red for one year. But the history books will always show him in green shamrocks, just like they will always show Michael Jordan in Bulls uniforms.
- Thomas averaged 29.9 points per game as a scorer. Wall averages 23 points per game. Maybe Pierce believes point guards are the ones who score the points — which most do in today’s game. In that case, it’s hard to argue.
- The Celtics are ahead of the Wizards right now - Yeah, the Wizards won the funeral game. But they’re still two games behind the Celtics as of the time of this writing.
- The Celtics did not have a pitifully bad start to their season. The Wizards did - The Celtics had a “learning curve” not unlike the Wizards in the beginning of their season. Their October-November 2016 record was 10-8. The Wizards’ were 6-11 in that same timeframe. The Wizards’ poor start isn’t entirely Wall’s fault of course. But the bottom line is that Wall’s being judged on his team’s and his individual performance at this point his career. If his team is not playing at a .500 level, he’s not going to get much national love. Now that the Wizards are firing on every cylinder, he is.
Of course, Wall has these arguments as to why he’s better than Thomas, despite the Wizards’ worse record.
- Wall averages 10.4 assists per game - Thomas averages 6.3
- Wall steals the ball 2.2 times per game - Thomas doesn’t average one.
- The Wizards’ roster minus Wall - Let’s just say that the Wizards without Wall isn’t as good as the Celtics minus Thomas.
To me, when there are fewer lines to add to your reasons, it’s an easier argument to make. I think Wall’s a better overall player, let alone point guard, than Thomas.
I get that there’s this Wall vs. Kyrie thing and the Wizards play the Cavaliers tomorrow. But there’s a new point guard rivalry of its own in the Eastern Conference between two teams that don’t like each other. And it looks like The Truth has made it clear which side he’s on.