Raps' Vasquez: Truth is Pierce has 'big balls'; Wittman disagrees

Now that it's happened in a Game 1 loss of a playoff series two years in a row, the Toronto Raptors may want to:

a) Not have their general manager swear in front of a crowd of fans.
b) Do their best to discourage fans and city media from targeting a future Hall of Famer with 149 career playoff games and more than 3,000 postseason points under his belt. 

Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez appears to be aware of this, and on Sunday told reporters that it's time to stop talking about the Washington Wizards' Paul Pierce. 

"If we keep talking about Paul Pierce, this is going to be a Paul Pierce series," Vasquez said a day after Toronto's 93-86 loss to the Wiz - led by the 37-year-old Pierce's 20 points on 70 percent shooting.

Vasquez sent the game to overtime with a clutch trey, but the Raptors fell flat in the extra frame, much as they had for three quarters. He said the Raptors are under no illusions about Pierce's ability.

When Wizards coach Randy Wittman got wind of Vasquez's remarks Sunday, he objected to the spherical speculation. 

Jokes aside, Vasquez maintains everybody in Toronto needs to move on from Pierce. "I think that (the media) gotta stop asking all of us questions about Paul Pierce," Vasquez said. "Let him do the talking, and we'll see at the end who's going to win the series."

The talking he's referring to was Pierce's response Saturday to a day of chants from Toronto fans, Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri's "don't give a shit about 'it'" remark, and the Toronto Sun's front page, which targeted the 17th-year veteran for the second spring in a row.

Following the Wizards' win, Pierce had a chuckle at the latter on his Instagram account.

While Pierce started the issue last week by telling ESPN the Raptors may lack something it takes to go deep into the playoffs, after Game 1, the response appears to have played right into Pierce's hands. 

Raptors coach Dwane Casey, between questions from the Toronto press about his rotation decisions in Game 1, said Sunday that there is no disrespecting Pierce on the floor.

"Paul is a great player," Casey told reporters. "His game speaks louder than anything he puts in print."

Beyond Pierce, Vasquez was full of more gold Sunday, telling reporters that any lingering injury to Raps point guard Kyle Lowry is immaterial during the playoffs.

"As a player, I'll tell you what: Who gives a shit?" he said. "We have to play." He also added he was not a fan of the early 12:30 local start in Toronto, although that's not an issue that hampered the Golden State Warriors in their game on Saturday.