Pierce disses coach Karl

Don't know if this has already been posted.

Pierce takes his shots - at Karl's coaching


By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 11/16/2002

Paul Pierce learned a lot playing for George Karl and Team USA at the World Championships this summer. But his most valuable lesson had nothing to do with becoming a better player, adapting to the international game, or building chemistry with his teammates.


''I learned not to go play USA basketball if George Karl is the coach,'' said Pierce.

The Celtics' cocaptain and leading scorer tried to dismiss the remark with a shrug and a smile. But there is almost always some truth in humor. It's no secret the relationship between Karl and Pierce chilled dramatically during the tournament. The two will be together tonight when the Celtics face Karl's Bucks in Milwaukee.

When the tournament began, Karl was full of praise for Pierce, lauding him as the team's best individual offensive player. Karl was impressed by Pierce's skills in practice. It was a different story by the end of the tournament, in which the American entry became the first US team comprised of NBA players to lose in international competition. As the tournament wore on, Karl said he felt Pierce was not being enough of a team player.

The coach decided not to play Pierce in the final quarter of the US's loss to Spain. The loss resulted in a sixth-place finish for the Americans. Karl blamed the ''money and greed of the NBA'' as a contributing factor to Team USA's poor showing. Also cited was the team's minimal training time together. But Pierce, the only American among the tournament's top 15 scorers, has a few other explanations and they all involve Karl. While Pierce calls it ''bad karma,'' the way he tells it there was much more to the situation.

''I don't think he's a players' coach, straight up,'' said Pierce. ''It wasn't only me, but a number of the players didn't respond to what he was saying or understand what he was trying to do. But me, I just play my part. I'm never going to question what he needs to do in practices, what he needs to do in games.

''We had a great coaching staff, [San Antonio's] Gregg Popovich [to name one assistant]. We had personalities on the coaching staff that you could get along with, but it was hard to read [Karl] at times, what he wanted out of certain people.''

Pierce is most surprised to hear he was perceived as selfish for taking a lot of shots, since that was the role Karl designated for him. For Pierce, the resulting confusion over his role reverts to Karl being difficult to relate to.

''Initially, my role on the team was that [Karl] needed me to be a guy who could score,'' said Pierce. ''That's what he told me my role was going to be. I accepted that. That's what I'm good at doing. Now, I do what he asked me to do and I become selfish and all these other things. You set yourself up for criticism when the team doesn't do well. That's the way it's always going to be and it's going to be directed toward the leaders of the team and I was one of the leaders of the team.''

There was an incident in the locker room before the Spain game that typified the players' lack of focus under Karl. The players decided they would spend the pregame watching Venus and Serena Williams play in the US Open. Karl took offense and asked the players to turn off the TV, which they did grudgingly. Karl felt the players were not interested in playing, though it was not the reason Pierce sat on the bench in the fourth quarter. Pierce contends watching the tennis was his way of relaxing and not thinking too much about the game.

Before Celtics games, Pierce can often be found in the trainer's room watching TV or joking with teammates and reporters. It's a way to keep his mind off the game until coach Jim O'Brien calls a meeting 45 minutes before tipoff.

''I wanted to finish off on a strong note,'' said Pierce. ''I thought I actually played well in the Spain game and didn't understand why I didn't play in the last quarter. You're never going to see me in a game where it's like I'm dogging it. I don't care who is the coach. I don't care what they have against me. I don't care what the situation is. When I'm on the basketball court, I'm never going to be one who's not going to want to play ... It's a silly comment to make that just because I'm watching a tennis match that I'm not focused on the game. That's ridiculous. You can't make that judgment on what you see before a game.''

So, don't expect any reconciliatory hugs at midcourt tonight. Also don't expect Pierce to try to prove something to Karl.

''I'm not going to Milwaukee to prove a point to him. If you can look at it, I probably led the team or was second in assists,'' said Pierce. ''I know [his dissatisfaction with my play] was not because of my passing. Who else did we have on the team to score? For me to try to go out there [tonight] and prove that I'm not selfish and all that ... I'm going to do what I can for the team that I'm on now, regardless of what happened with the US team.''

This story ran on page F5 of the Boston Globe on 11/16/2002.
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