So he asked to guard Kobe Bryant, the dangerous Los Angeles Lakers scorer. The locker room was stunned. Yes, this is a prideful defensive team where guys make these kinds of requests, but he wants Kobe? Nobody wants Kobe. Certainly not when the game was all but lost anyway
By the fourth quarter, with the deficit erased, Bryant still in single digits and Pierce heaving in exhaustion, Rivers figured the point was made. He tried to switch the pressure off of Pierce, send a trap of two or three guys to handle the MVP.
And Pierce, hands on his shorts and breathing heavy in the huddle, would have none of it.
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."
- Michael Jordan
