2010 NBA Finals, Game 4: Truth Be Told, the Celtics Need Paul Pierce To Step Up

With the Celtics season on the line, it's not Rajon Rondo (for a change) who must come up big for Boston tonight in Game Four.

It's not Ray Allen, who uplifted the C's to their only win in the series thus far with his astounding 32 point performance and record breaking eight three-pointers made.

And it's not Kevin Garnett, who finally showed flashes of the old KG during Game Three.

The man of the hour, starting at 9 p.m. Eastern Time tonight, needs to be Paul Pierce.

During the 2008 NBA Finals, Pierce dropped 21.8 points per game on an efficient 43.2 percent shooting, scoring 17 or more points in the four victories during that series.

This Finals run sees Pierce averaging 16.3 points per game on a whopping 36.1 percent from the field.

Boston holds a 6-2 overall record during this postseason when Pierce scores 20 or more points, and he has done so only once in the first three games of this series.

Although Pierce refuses to admit that Ron Artest's defensive presence (which has forced the star to shoot a combined 13-for-36 from the field in three games) has been a factor in his slump, the Celtics are in desperate need of their forward to come out of his shell and prove to the NBA world that he is not nicknamed the Truth for no reason.

With nearly every analyst predicting Orlando and Cleveland to surpass the Celtics during the second round and conference finals, Boston's resurgence and hard work mentality throughout the entire playoffs will finally pay off if the Truth could be set free tonight on the big stage.

To read more of Brandon's content please check out his website at www.nbaprimetime.com