On July 17 when the Washington Wizards announced that they had signed veteran small forward Paul Pierce, the fan base was ecstatic. The team was coming off of its first playoff appearance since 2008 and was came up just short of an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals. Now they had signed a 10-time all-star, former Finals MVP and future hall of famer in Pierce. 
Although the Wizards' faithful knew they were getting a good shooter with playoff experience and veteran leadership, they didn't know they would get a player who would play such a pivotal role in the team's next playoff run.
Now fast forward to this year's playoffs, with the Wizards taking on the Toronto Raptors in the first round. Pierce was booed consistently during both games in Toronto, and constantly heard chants of "Paul Pierce sucks" from the Raptors fans. But Pierce fed off the boos, averaging 15.5 points per game and shooting 58% from three in that series, and leading the Wiz to a sweep of the Raptors.
Then we move to the second round, where the Wizards are currently taking on the Atlanta Hawks. By now we have all seen Pierce's game winning shot in game 3, and his post game interview in which when asked if he called bank on the game-winner, he responded, "I called game." The shot was not just any game-winner. The shot gave new hope to the city of Washington, DC. The shot gave new life to a team who had just blown a 21-point fourth quarter lead. The shot let the Washington fans rest easy knowing that even without star point guard John Wall for possibly the rest of the playoffs, the Wizards will be just fine with Pierce.
Pierce had another chance for a big shot in game 4. With the Wizards down by 3 with 7 seconds left Pierce got a look at a wide open three. Even though the shot did not go in, just the fact that all of Washington, Atlanta, and the entire NBA expected the shot to go in shows that the Wizards finally have what they need: a finisher. And he's not just any finisher, he is The Truth.
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