Pierce plays another Christmas Day game

MIAMI—For the third straight year, Paul Pierce will awaken to Christmas in New York.

The feeling never gets old.

Playing on Christmas Day, when fans seem to begin paying more attention to NBA as American football winds down, is still a big deal to players. Pierce is trying to make sure that the Washington Wizards understand the significance.

Of the 14 players in the Washington squad, eight have never played in a Christmas game. Pierce has played in five, not including two others that he missed because of injury.

“By Christmas, you should know what type of team you are,” Pierce said. “You should have an identity. Around Christmas, this is the time you should be showing everybody, `This is who we are.’ You’re in it or you’re out of it. This the time for the rest of the league, the rest of the world to find out, this is who we are.”

Here’s who the Wizards are: A contender in the Eastern Conference.

Off to a 19-7 start, the Wizards are proving Pierce made the right decision when he raised eyebrows this past summer by deciding to move to Washington. They’re on pace for their best season in 30 years, are led by a point guard worthy of some MVP buzz in John Wall, and have no one among the league’s top 25 scorers yet have six players averaging double figures.

And now for the first time since 2008, the Wizards get to play on the league’s showcase day.

“A lot of times, I’m opening presents with my kids the day before because I’m gone on Christmas,” said Pierce, who visited New York on Dec. 25 in 2012, and was part of a home game with Brooklyn on the holiday last year. “Out of six or seven Christmas games, I’ve played at home one time. We’ve been on the road pretty much the whole time.   AP