The Minnesota Timberwolves-Phoenix Suns series managed to catch quite a lot of people off-guard with Boston Celtics legends Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce being a part of the many. The Wolves lead the series 2-0 and the battle between Anthony Edwards and Kevin Durant has been a hot topic of discussion for KG and The Truth.
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Both Garnett and Pierce can’t seem to get enough of this matchup between Ant-Man and the Slim Reaper. Garnett even went so far as to compare this battle to the times Paul Pierce and LeBron James clashed heads back in the day.
“This is a great parody. This is like, you and young Bron! How you had to do young Bron? Cause it was a lot of smackin…I’m talking about you. I know y’all early. I know you had to say some words, you had some youngs-…You knew he was gonna be real?”
Kevin Garnett took a trip down memory lane with Paul Pierce and his battles with a young LeBron James. Talking about his matchups with Bron, Garnett asked his former teammate if he knew how great this kid from Akron was going to be.
Well aware of the potential he possessed, Pierce admitted to knowing that LeBron James would go on to be great one day. However, even Pierce had not imagined the level of greatness and stardom James went on to achieve.
Having a look at their matchups from the past, James and Pierce met in the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals for the first time. In a series that went to seven games, James led the way for the Cavs in scoring, averaging 26.7 points per game as opposed to Pierce’s 19.4 PPG average, as per Basketball Reference.
The two went on to meet once again in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals and the Celtics bested LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers once again. But looking at the Pierce-Bron matchup, The Truth averaged only 13.5 PPG whereas James was averaging nearly double, clocking in at 26.8 points per game. It’s also important to note that the Celtics boasted of a lineup consisting of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo as 4 of the starting 5 players, all of whom went on to have Hall-of-Fame level careers.
While Paul Pierce may feel as if he gave LeBron James a few ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moments early in his career, later on during their careers, James went on to cement his dominance over The Truth when it mattered the most.
LeBron James vs Paul Pierce was a whole different equation
Kevin Garnett’s comparison of the battle between Anthony Edwards and Kevin Durant may have a few certain similarities to that of Paul Peirce and LeBron James’ early matchups but that is where the similarity ends.
The relationship between Ant and KD is different, especially when Edwards had publicly stated that Durant was his favorite player. LeBron James, on the other hand, never went on to admit any admiration for Paul Pierce.
An anomaly in Garnett’s comparison is the fact that Paul Pierce was never at the level LeBron James has been throughout his career. Granted that Pierce was a gifted and relentless scorer during his prime in Boston but having a look at Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves guard certainly possesses the potential to be as great of a scorer as KD, if not better.
One of the more anticipated games is Game 3 between the Suns and the Wolves. Trailing 0-2 to this young Minnesota team, fans are eager to see how the ‘Big Three’ of Durant, Booker, & Beal strike back as both teams head to Phoenix, Arizona for games 3 & 4.
