Now that the Celtics have won a title, it's about time Paul Pierce gets some MVP votes.

Paul Pierce's name never comes up when the letters M-V-P are tossed around. It may not have been a valid argument in the past but now that the Celtics have won a title and are amongst the NBA's elite, should he not be at least mentioned in the conversation?

A player's time for association with the coveted award usually has a short shelf life as we are currently in the Kobe Bryant vs. LeBron James era of MVP arguments since both those players have dominant games, and a flair for the dramatic. Those two points alone cause adoring fans and voters to ignore the fact that in the past their respective teams have not had the requisite number of victories to have them garner a meaningful place in the discussion.

So what's been the knock on Pierce? Well first off his team, until last season, hadn't won enough. Over the course of history, it's almost to the point where if a player's team does not have at least 57 or 58 wins he really can't be considered for top spot in the MVP race. So while his name is already amongst the all-time Celtic greats when it comes to the statistics, is this the season Pierce will be finally be in the mix for the league's top award? He probably should be, but I doubt it.

"The Truth" as Pierce has been dubbed, because his game doesn't lie, has never finished in the top 10 in the MVP balloting. He will more than likely be dismissed again this year amid all the Kobe, LeBron, and Chris Paul arguments. The naysayers may point to the fact that he has never made his teammates better and will contend the Boston Celtics are winning not because of Pierce but because of the two additions to the roster last year in Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.

But in the Celtics locker room, Pierce`s teammates know that he is the man when it comes to crunch time. You may have heard KG on the podium, post game, after a recent win over the Toronto Raptors patting him on the back while crooning to the media and humming the Superman theme saying "Ladies and gentlemen, this here is Clark Kent, the other guy out on the floor was Superman." This following Pierce`s 39 point performance in the overtime win over the Raptors.

He may not be as flashy as others around the league but Pierce is a good decision maker and he knows how to score in a bunch of ways. He can step back and make threes, he can drive the lane and get to the basket, he is second on the Celtics all-time list of free throws made and when all else fails, head coach Doc Rivers calls for the side screen and roll involving Pierce and usually the point guard. If he gets a rub and finds a lane into the paint, forget it or if he gets a switch, it's the back down job on a smaller player and ring the bell because school is in session.

Does the lack of respect when it comes to the MVP award bother Pierce? Not really because he knows he has help to get W's and we all know that winning trumps all.

"I think the MVP goes to how much more you mean to your team," said Pierce. "When you have three all-stars on one ball club, it's hard when you have a guy like Dwayne Wade or LeBron James who carry their team and just can't live without them."

"If I don't play we're still OK," maintained Pierce modestly as he somewhat downplayed his contributions.

Veteran Sam Cassell says that the strength of the supporting cast is definitely a factor but Pierce in spite of the others, is still the "go to" player in Boston.

"Kevin (Garnett) and Ray's (Allen) presence overshadow Paul, and they are all in each other's shadow a little bit" said Cassell. "Sometimes people don't see the overall importance of a guy like Paul and what he brings to the game."

"But hey, he's everything for us. He gets big rebounds, he makes big plays, and he makes big baskets for us."

One of the great Celtics, Tom Heinson, who has played for the team and been around the franchise since 1956, says that Pierce has been painted in the wrong light. That fact more than anything else has removed him from voters consciousness.

"I think when he played in the World Championship's (in 2002 in Indianapolis) George Karl did him a disservice," said Heinson candidly. "He kind of bad-mouthed him all around and when Pierce got in the game he tried to put the team on his shoulders and help the team win, and that's where it all stemmed from."

While some may still see Pierce as having an attitude problem, Doc Rivers begs to differ. Even though the two men clashed and had their differences when Rivers initially took over as coach in Beantown, they are squarely on the same page.

"Paul has had an MVP attitude," said Rivers. "He has changed tremendously since I arrived here."

"It took some time but at the end of my first year here, he (Pierce) came in to my office near the end of the season and said 'OK, I know what you want' and there has been no problem since."

In spite of all the offence he provides when the game is on the line, Pierce still does share of rebounding and defending. True he has something that he has never had in the past with Boston's role players and supporting cast being very strong, but on the way to the title last year there were duels with LeBron and Kobe and he was the one responsible for making the plays when the Celtics needed them. It can be argued that in the Finals last year, the main reason Boston won the NBA Championship was that the Los Angeles Lakers had no answer for him. Oh by the way, Pierce was named Finals MVP.

We're half way through the campaign and with mid-season awards ready to dot the media landscape, you probably won't hear Pierce's name mentioned when it comes to the MVP. I can't say that I disagree because arguments can be made either way but when the game is on the line, he makes plays and that alone might just start people thinking "hey why does this guy not get some consideration for MVP."

While Pierce would not get my top vote, I do think he's a money player and like him or not, deserves to be some place in the discussion.