Paul Pierce’s saga continues today. The guy who was so injured he couldn’t walk the other night in Game 1 in Boston might or might not play tonight. Pierce needed to be carried off the court and wheelchaired to the dressing room after he hurt his knee in Game 1. Bill Plaschke, a friend and columnist for the LA Times, said Pierce was weeping on the court at the severity of his knee injury. One minute and 45 seconds later Pierce was back on the court, sinking threes and leading the Celtics to the win.

All this led some to question the authenticity of the injury. Plaschke called it chicanery, which led to Boston fans writing Plaschke and telling they hoped he’d get cancer. Nice. Lakers coach Phil Jackson smirked about Pierce’s miracle comeback, then said this on Saturday: "I don't know if the angels visited him at halftime or in that timeout period he had or not," Jackson said. "But he didn't even limp when he came back out on the floor. I don't know what was going on there. Was Oral Roberts back there in their locker room?"

Call that a direct shot to Pierce, the Celtics and their credibility. And Jackson is the son of a minister.

Now, I’m not going to question Pierce’s injury. When the Finals are said and done, we may learn he played the rest of the series with an MCL tear or something. But the entire drama in Game 1 was a bit much. The guy was crying, he could not stand, could not put weight on his knee, then he trots back on the court? For crying out loud, he was in a wheelchair, and two minutes later he trotte back on the court. Celtics fans went nuts. There are the same fans, of course, who howled every time LeBron James reacted after getting hit in the face in their series. James was a baby, or so I was told. Pierce, because he plays for Boston, is a hero. Please. Even Pierce admitted being carried off was almost embarrassing.

To compare it to Willis Reed’s situation in 1970 is downright insulting to Reed, who played the first four games of the Finals against Wilt Chamberlain and scored 37, 29, 38 and 23 points. And averaged 15 rebounds. He tore a muscle in his hip the next game and missed Game 6. Prior to Game 7, he had to take three shots just to play – Jackson, a teammate, called them “horse shots.” And when he dragged his leg as he ran on the floor, he was coming back from an injury, a torn muscle. He was not trotting back on from something he thought was an injury.

In terms of drama and being dramatic, Reed’s actions were Shakespearean and Pierce’s were High School Musical. I wrote that here as well, and I stand by it.

All this also points out the sense of entitlement that Celtics fans have carried themselves with since the playoffs started. That by virtue of wearing Celtic green their team deserves the championship. They act so entitled they would make the Clintons blush. Let’s be honest, they were so bad last year Pierce thought he’d be traded. Then Danny Ainge made a nice move getting Ray Allen on draft day. Then Kevin McHale helped his old team and old friend out by shipping Kevin Garnett to Boston. The Celtics are good. Very good. They play defense with a vengeance. If they win the title they are deserving. But this team is hardly home-grown.

Come to think of it, getting Garnett is actually comparable to the Lakers getting Pau Gasol for a ballrack and dirty jerseys in midseason. Perhaps these guys deserve each other in these Finals. (Yes, it’s best to go now — before Cleveland sports bitterness totally engulfs this ridiculous blog.)