Beantown's dynamic duo

By Sean Rogers Sports Central Columnist

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal are clearly the most dominant pair of players on any team in the NBA.

After that pair, though, another pair in the East is starting to stake their claim to the second best pair in the NBA.

Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker are quickly becoming two of the NBA's finest players.

The pair arguably have been the most important to any team in the league, as both have averaged over 40 minutes per game.

In Boston, and around the country, the debate rages on -- which player is better, Pierce or Walker?

According to most of the so-called NBA experts, Pierce is the better of the pair.

At first glance, or the first time one watches a Celtics game, it appears that this notion is absolutely correct. Pierce is clearly the man that the Celtics go to when they need a basket.

In a memorable game against the New Jersey Nets, Pierce struggled in the first half, scoring two points on 16 shots.

In the second half of that game, Pierce scored 42 points. Not bad.

Pierce is averaging 26.9 ppg, with a 43 percent field goal percentage. Again, not bad.

The main thing that people look at when calling Pierce the star of the Celtics, instead of Walker, though, is that 43 percent field goal percentage.

Antoine Walker, while averaging 24.7 ppg, only has a 38% field goal percentage.

Many of these field goals are taken on poor three point opportunities, while there are no Celtics rebounding underneath the basket.

Still, there are reasons to believe that Walker is the better of the pair.

Pierce gets in foul trouble quite often, and in some stretches late in games, the Celtics have been forced to bench Pierce, while Walker has to take over the entire show.

Walker is averaging nearly 11 rebounds per game. Many of those rebounds help the Celtics, and help Pierce, get additional shots after misses.

Against the Phoenix Suns, Pierce shot a two to tie the game with one second left. The shot missed, but Walker rebounded and tipped the ball back in with 0.4 seconds to bring the game to overtime, where the Celtics would win.

Also, Walker is leading the team in assists. Even though he often gets a bad rap for being a selfish basketball player, he is racking up assists because of a change in thinking.

,br>When he is double-teamed, he now trusts teammates like Vitaly Potapenko and Joe Johnson to make open shots that he sets up for them. Pierce, when double teamed, often just tries to break through it or shoot over it.

Could the Celtics win without Walker? Probably not. Walker's rebounding and playmaking abilities, in addition to his scoring abilities, make him irreplaceable.

At the same time, Pierce also appears irreplaceable for the Celtics. He is the fan's choice, winning the Celtic Pride award last year, as voted by the fans.

Walker is often booed. Part of the reason that he gets criticism is because of Rick Pitino's insistence on blaming him for every one of the team's struggles.

Whichever way you look at it, though, Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce are great -- together. Without either of them, the Celtics would be nowhere. With both, the Celtics are a serious playoff contender.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.