Kobe and Pierce Turn Back the Hands of Time

On Tuesday night, two aging stars and future Hall of Famers, who have both been questioned regarding their elite status in the NBA due to their age mileage, showed those doubters what they could still do.  Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce both had dominant games to lead their respective teams to big playoff wins.  The Lakers were already up 1-0 in the series against the Denver Nuggets, but now have a strangle-hold on the series.  The Celtics were playing without Rajon Rondo due to a 1-game suspension that was discussed on this blog, as well as Ray Allen due to injury, and they had loss their first game to Atlanta and were in big need of win.  Pierce carried them on their back, being aggressive right from the opening tip, scoring his team's first 9 points.  Although the middle portion of the game Pierce wasn't as assertive offensively, as the game remained close he exploded in the 4th quarter, outscoring the entire Atlanta Hawks team in that period.  Both Bryant and Pierce had the entire spectrum of their offensive game working and on display, which in both cases is quite a thing to witness.  They actually have similar strength's in some ways, as they are two of the most prolific mid-range shooters this league has seen, both being uncanny in their ability to fake out the defender in various ways to get them off balance or off their feet.  Pierce finished 12-26 from the field with 36 points and 14 rebounds.  Kobe was a staggering 15-29 from the field, finishing with 38 points.

All this to say, that some of the crafty veterans in the NBA are showing they are not quite ready to hand over the torch to the young stars who may have an advantage regarding youth-based athleticism.  Tony Parker and Tim Duncan of the Spurs are another prime example of this phenomenon in action.  In addition to Pierce's performance, his 35 year old teammate Kevin Garnett had a strong game, with 15 points, 12 rebound, and 5 assists.  Beyond that, his intangible defensive presence cannot be quantified but was obvious to anyone who watched the game.  Everybody is talking about The Heat and the Thunder advancing to the finals, what's wrong with Celtics vs. Lakers?  Not a thing in my book.