The play of Paul Pierce was one of the feel-good stories of this postseason.

The 37-year-old exceeded expectations. He backed up his brazen trash talk with one big shot after another, practically demanding the ball whenever the game was in the balance. No situation was too big for the wily veteran. Pierce, in the twilight of his career, wanted to be the guy to save the day—and the season—for the Wizards in their second-round series with the Atlanta Hawks.

It bothers this author, though, that the ball was always in Pierce’s hands when Washington needed the bucket. It's understandable why the team wanted the ball in his hands. Pierce is an NBA champion, a former Finals MVP, a ten-time All-Star. He has the clutch gene. Not saying that Pierce wasn’t a logical option. However, he came to Washington to help out, not take every pivotal shot of the Wizards’ postseason run.

This is John Wall and Bradley Beal’s team, right? You couldn’t tell while watching Games 3 through 6 of the Atlanta series, that's for sure. It was Pierce who decided the team’s fate when it had chances to put the East’s top seed in a real bind. Not Beal. Not Wall (you know, when he was healthy enough to play). For fans of a team that was hoping to exude significant growth this season, that has to be at least a little disappointing.

Me and John, we set goals for ourselves and as a team … We want to get this team further, and the team doesn’t go unless we go. And that’s probably what hurt us the most, is that we couldn’t get our guys another opportunity to get to the Eastern Conference Finals,” Beal said following the Wizards’ season-ending 94-91 loss to the Hawks at home in Game 6, which was confirmed after Pierce’s potential game-tying, three-point shot at the buzzer was nullified because he got it off too late.

It’s just tough and heartbreaking because we know how hard we both work, and how much we mean to this city and to this team and what we want to get these guys. And, for a second year in a row that we couldn’t get them over the hump, it’s going to be nightmares for a couple of days for both of us,” Wall added.

No reporters asked them specifically, but there is a wonder if Beal and Wall regret the loss to Atlanta even more because neither attempted the final shot. This writer wonders how bad both guys truly wanted the big shots in that series. Wizards head coach Randy Wittman, Beal and Wall were asked multiple times following that Game 6 loss to describe how the team made strides this season despite failing to move beyond the semifinals for the second consecutive year. The reliance on Pierce when the team absolutely had to make a shot was anything but a sign of growth.

Who knows if “The Truth” will return next season. He shouldn’t. His overall performance this postseason is the kind of high note he should leave on. Not to mention, his departure would instantly shift the onus of coming through in the clutch back to Wall and Beal. Nitpicking? Maybe. But who cares. It's better to see teams' best players take the most important shots. It would’ve been nice to see Wall and/or Beal attempt at least one of those such shots in the Hawks series. For young stars, taking the make-or-break shots in the playoffs is a huge part of the maturing process. Wall and Beal, probably more so Beal than Wall, missed out on (or passed up, depending on how you look at it) a great opportunity against the Hawks. A couple of them, actually. It’s probably best for Pierce to step aside now so that those guys can fully embrace their postseason responsibilities as soon as possible.

Let's not accuse Wall and Beal of not wanting to attempt the potential series-defining shots against the Hawks, though. It was a miracle that Wall was able to play in the final two games of the series after missing Games 2 through 4 after learning he had five non-displaced fractures in his left wrist and hand. But ponder:

  • In Game 3, when the score was tied at 101 with under 10 seconds to go, Beal simply gave the ball up to Pierce, who nailed the game-winning jumper.
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  • In Game 4, with the Wizards trailing 104-101 with under 10 seconds remaining, it was Pierce who sought out the inbounds pass and missed the potential game-tying shot.
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  • In Game 5, with the Wizards trailing 80-78 in the waning seconds, Beal, after catching the inbounds pass, kicked it out to an open, you guessed it, Pierce, who swished a three-pointer to give Washington a one-point lead, but was trumped by Al Horford, who made the game-winning layup with about two seconds remaining.
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  • In Game 6, with Washington trailing 94-91, it was Beal inbounding the ball to Wall, who, after dribbling into a double team, desperately flung it to Pierce, who, well, by now you know the rest. (It’s worth pointing out that Wall finished this game with 20 points and 13 assists, and Beal, who keyed the Wizards' big run in the fourth quarter, finished with 29 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Pierce, the would-be hero, finished with just four points on 1-of-7 shooting [including 0-of-2 from downtown] in 24 minutes).
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Here’s what Wall said about the final play of Game 6, after he was asked if he thought about taking the shot himself. “No, the play was for me to catch the ball, be patient. We had some action when Brad was going one way [and I was] looking for him, and Paul was supposed to come back the other way. But, I seen the time was ticking, and it was kind of congested up there, so I just tried to go and try to make a shot. Give credit to [the Hawks]. They did a great job of just switching out and talking, and we couldn’t get the look that we really wanted.”

It's mindboggling when Wall indicated he wasn’t inclined to take the final shot, even though he had taken 21 shots up to that point. Even when Atlanta’s defense didn't have the Wizards scrambling at the end of games, it just seemed Pierce was always the intended go-to guy. He shouldered a little too much responsibility in the playoffs. Wall and Beal, and Wittman to a degree, were a little too comfortable with that for this author's liking.

Bradley Beal and John are different players than they were last year at this time. And now, we just got to continue that growth,” Wittman said after the Game 6 loss to the Hawks.

Somewhere in this ongoing growth process, Wall and Beal are going to have to get in the habit of taking the kinds of shots legacies are built on, the kinds of shots Pierce was more than willing to take this postseason, the kinds of shot Wall and Beal gladly let him take.

I haven’t made a lot of big shots, but I feel confident in taking them,” Wall said during his exit interview earlier this week.

If Pierce doesn’t return next season, he and Beal won’t have any choice but to take those shots.

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About the author
Linwood Outlaw III
Born and raised in Baltimore, Md., Linwood Outlaw III holds a Bachelor's degree in English. He previously worked at The Public Opinion newspaper in Chambersburg, Pa. and the Northern Virginia Daily in Strasburg, Va. He's a fan of the Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia 76ers.