Who’s Better: Paul Pierce Or Paul George?

The young buck vs. the old guard. It’s Paul Pierce vs. Paul George, two of the best the Eastern Conference can offer at handling the ball and his team, a reputation given for years of experience for Pierce and three eye-opening months for George.

As we near All-Star weekend in Houston, site of George’s first All-Star honor — and after a 7-0 week for Boston after missing Rajon Rondo, a streak largely attributed to Pierce — it’s the perfect time to check out who you’d want on your squad more. There’s no wrong answer here, really, because both are playing as well as they ever have. So, point blank: who ya got? We argue, you decide.

*** *** ***

PAUL PIERCE
In debating the merits of Eastern Conference small forwards, the deciding factor is how they match up with No. 6 on the Heat. The road to the Finals goes through the best player in the world, as he plays arguably the best basketball of his career. Knocking off Miami will require a superstar performance from the man guarding LeBron James. While no one will outplay him for an entire seven-game series, the head-to-head matchup can’t be a landslide. Despite being 13 years older than Paul George, Paul Pierce is still the better player because of his proven track record against James.

George has had a breakout season as he made the jump from role player to All-Star. His length, athleticism and playmaking abilities create headaches for opposing defenses. His sharp shooting has landed him a spot in the three-point contest at All-Star weekend just a year after being in the dunk contest. He is well on his way to being a household name and perennial All-Star for the rest of the decade.

But don’t forget that Pierce has been doing the same things since the turn of the millennium. Ok, maybe not the jumping parts. Despite having the third-worst shooting season of his career, Pierce has taken his game to a higher level since Rajon Rondo‘s season-ending ACL tear. In the eight games since the injury, Pierce has been the focal point of Boston’s offense going for 18.1 ppg, 9.9 rpg and 7.4 apg.

George will find himself on the highlight reels more often, but Pierce will still make the bigger plays. As seen by his game-tying three-pointer to force a third overtime against the Nuggets on Sunday, Pierce’s reputation as one of the league’s best crunch time scorers is still deserved. Sure, he isn’t as consistent as he once was, his case of butterfingers against the Knicks last month among the most notable, but George doesn’t have the same pedigree as Pierce in the clutch. Quick, try to name one big shot that George has hit in his two-and-a-half season career. *Crickets*

Pierce’s experience is the main reason why he is still the superior player. We know what Pierce can do with his old-man game of pump fakes, pull-up jumpers and pressure shots. For all his skills, George is still very much an unproven commodity. Could he develop into a LeBron stopper, while being a 25 points a night scorer? Yes. But he isn’t that yet. We still don’t even know how Granger will perform when Danny Granger returns.

It is easy to simply proclaim that the younger, more athletic and exciting player is better than the wily veteran. Reality just doesn’t match that argument. A statistical comparison is essentially a wash so it boils down to playing against James. This is where Pierce clearly wins the debate.

He has been a thorn in James’ side since he entered the league. The animosity goes back to 2004 when Pierce spit at the Cavs bench during a preseason game. The 2008 playoff duel saw Pierce play James as close as anyone. In 2010, Pierce and the Celtics benefitted from James’ phantom elbow injury. While James has knocked the Celtics out of the playoffs the past two seasons, you can bet he would be more concerned about Pierce than George in the playoffs.
— PAUL PALLADINO

PAUL GEORGE
Paul George doesn’t have the years of experience, the dozens of clutch shots or the world championship under his belt.

He’s only got everything else.

He’s a young player whose role has grown from complimentary player to NBA star in about 10 weeks, after all. But for as legendary as Pierce has been — and as resurgent he’s played since Rondo’s season-ending injury — only one other player in the NBA this season is averaging at least 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. And that player is LeBron James, whose greatness has already been discussed. In fact, since Pierce was a rookie, only 11 people have averaged those kind of statistics George has for a season, a group that’s never included Pierce. Those are numbers befitting one of the rare players who can translate his gifts of athleticism and timing into every phase of the game. This is, as a reminder, just George’s third season. If I’m taking George vs. Pierce in a winner-take-all matchup in this moment, George is an easy choice because his impact covers more than just one end of the court.

Both have shown they can score, of course. While Pierce has done it for more than a decade in a steady run of excellence even for the storied Green and White, George is showing he can answer the call in a moment’s notice. Say, for example, an injury that knocked leading scorer Danny Granger out of the lineup for all but two weeks of the season. George’s scoring jumped from 14.3 points per game in November to 18.8 in December, 19.4 in January, and 19.1 this month. Three consecutive months of not only scoring but leadership from George to hold Indiana together despite Granger’s absence and Roy Hibbert’s virtual invisibility in the paint. It matches the kind of put a team on my back role Pierce has always held. Is that too general a description of his influence for you? The Pacers’ offense is anemic without him on the floor, scoring eight fewer points, according to NBA.com statistics, while shooting seven percentage points worse from three and four points worse overall.

The difference is defense. Put George on a team like Indiana and it can be hard to differentiate his effect from the rest of the squad’s league-leading defense. However, it’s also hard to separate Pierce’s poor defense on account of his age — not to blame him much, because everyone loses a step — from the rest of his team’s worsening defense. While the Celtics are ranked in the top 10 of defensive rating this season, it’s the team’s third-worst rating since the beginning of the Big Three era in 2007, nearly four points per 100 possessions worse than last year’s 2011-12 team. What George brings that is different is the quickness to shadow players from point guard to a stretch four, often checking a team’s best player. In a Feb. 4 game against division-best Chicago, George hounded Luol Deng, one of the game’s top-five best two-way players, in a fitting compliment. On the game’s first possession, George stuck with Deng over a screen from Carlos Boozer, kept Deng on his left hip and drove him toward the corner instead of letting him turn toward the rim, then blocked a poor shot attempt. In the same game’s fourth quarter with Indiana protecting an 11-point lead, George swatted Deng from behind at the rim off an offensive board. In games against James this season where he’s almost exclusively guarded the game’s most unguardable player, he’s blocked his shot in a ridiculously impressive show of athleticism, then slid underneath him for a block to seal a Feb. 1 victory at home.

Pierce can create many plays still, but he can’t make those. And right now, I’ll take George in this guard matchup because plays just like them.
— ANDREW GREIF

Who would you take?

Follow Paul on Twitter at @ppalladino21.

Follow Andrew on Twitter at @AndrewGreif.

Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.

Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.

×