Wizards' Paul Pierce 'is just going to be who Paul Pierce is going to be'

Paul Pierce is dedicated to being true to himself. 

The Washington Wizards small forward will remain vocal no matter how far his team gets in the postseason. 

"Paul Pierce is just going to be who Paul Pierce is going to be," said Pierce, according to USA Today Sports' Jeff Zillgitt. 

"I'm going to be myself. If it helps our team or hurts our team, I'm just trying to be myself and see where that goes. I'm a vocal person. I speak up. I tell the guys how I feel. I'm emotional. It's just me being me truthfully."

Vocal is putting it lightly when it comes to Pierce. In true troll form, the veteran kept his trash-talk game strong before, during and after the Wizards swept the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs.  

First, he said the Raptors didn't have the "it" factor it took to win. Then, he went out onto the court and shot more than 50 percent from beyond the arc in all four first-round games.  

Finally, after the sweep, Pierce crowned himself the King of the North. 

"I just look at it as good banter. Good banter," said Pierce. "That's the word. A lot of this stuff I don't pre-think it. It just comes out naturally."

He really is himself in all circumstances. For example, the 37-year-old got rowdy at the Washington Capitals' Game 7 against the New York Islanders on Monday, banging on the glass when the skaters were nearby. 

"I got some coaching because I never sat that close before, so they said when a player comes close to the window, you're supposed to hit the window," Pierce explained. 

He was merely taking a lesson from history. 

"I was doing as the Romans do."