OK, Paul Pierce. Ron Artest, the 2004 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and a longtime nemesis, has held you to just 13-of-36 shooting in the first three games of the 2010 NBA finals. What's the secret? How is this happening? Just a matter of a great defender meeting the challenge? 

"I don't really see anything he's doing special that any other teams haven't done throughout the course of the playoffs. That's it." Pierce said on Wednesday.

Huh. Well, what say you, Ron Artest? Must be proud of the way you have shut down the 2008 NBA finals MVP, a lock first-ballot Hall of Famer. A lot of whispers before the series began that you might not be able to slow down Pierce, that you had lost at least a step. Feeling good heading into Game 4?

"I feel like I haven't played defense the way I want to play defense," Artest told the media during his sometimes bizarre, sometimes endearing, sometimes bordering on incomprehensible 28-minute session on Wednesday. "In Game 4 I'm going to try and come out and play better defense. Get back to winning defense."

So Paul Pierce is shooting 36.1 percent though the first three games of the NBA finals but neither Pierce or the man guarding Pierce feels any credit should go to the defense. And both don't feel much like talking about the other at all. 

That pretty much sums up the mood of Paul Pierce and Ron Artest before Game 4 of the NBA finals. And isn't this how it should be this time of year? Before the series started the two traded some verbal love through the media, but that seemed forced and is long gone. Who knows, maybe it was put to sleep 33 seconds into Game 1, when Artest dragged Pierce to the ground in some kind of inverted suplex straight out of the Harley Race playbook. 

Artest could not have been more relaxed on Wednesday. Loosey meets goosey. You would have thought this was his day off between rounds at a celebrity golf tournament, not at an NBA finals that could go a LONG way in defining his legacy or at the very worst change the second line of his eventual hoops obit. Take this answer to a question about Glen Davis playing over Kendrick Perkins during the fourth quarter of Game 3. 

"Big Baby is tough. He can shoot from the outside consistently," Artest said. "You got to guard him. He's a force, he bangs, he's quick, I think he's 300 pounds maybe? He would argue that? OK, 299 pounds. He can move, he can dunk. He's a hell of an athlete, he should play football and basketball. And box. And baseball, if he can. And rugby. Tennis. And bodyguard. And bounce, be a bouncer. And cook. He'd probably rather eat than cook. He's a great all-around athlete and I guess cook."

That was roughly the tone for about 75 percent of the presser. But when the words "Paul Pierce" were spoken, two things inevitably happened. Loosey goosey would exit, stage right and just a hint of anger would suddenly arrive. 

When, for instance, Artest was asked if he thought he had "frustrated" Pierce to this point in the finals, you could see his body language and hear the tone of the voice change. It was a defensive specialist getting, well, defensive. There was a pretty clear message being delivered.

"Did he say I frustrate him? Are you saying that?" Artest asked the reporter. "Point the cameras at him [the reporter]. I didn't say that. The stats say that. He said it wasn't me, Paul said I wasn't doing anything. So I guess I got to come out in Game 4 and play better defensively.

Got to do better. Obviously I'm not doing anything. Obviously my defense is not affecting anybody. Got to go out there and make it affect somebody."

Pierce was in stark contrast to the mostly chipper Artest during his five minutes on the podium (Artest did not warrant a podium spot -- only Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant for the Lakers). No goofing with reporters, no predicting his Game 4 point total (Artest asked a reporter how many points he should score. Eight, she said. OK, talk to Phil and let me know, he responded). Pierce had the look of a man that wanted to be anywhere else in the world, save perhaps for a "Sex and the City 2" screening.  He gamely answered a few questions -- foul trouble, the Big Three can't get in synch, the Game 3 film session -- but noticeably stiffened and dropped the civility meter a few dozen notches when the words "Ron Artest" were spoken. 

When asked if it wasn't actually Artest but a simple matter of missing the shots that he usually makes, Pierce asked the reporter this:

"You watch the game. What do you think he's doing?"

Being physical, is basically what the reporter answered, before asking if it was merely a coincidence that Artest, a four-time All-NBA defensive team member with a not so insignificant history of giving him problems in the past, was the man defending Pierce during his struggles in the first three games.

"I think so."

The truth (pun intended), of course, is that Artest is doing a terrific job on Pierce. I'm sure both Pierce and Artest are fully aware of this.  Now has Pierce had some open looks in this series? Sure. But that's always going to happen. But here's where Artest is different from most guys that try to guard Pierce. Usually the defender is either as quick or as strong as Pierce, but almost never is he both. Well, Artest has been both for the first three games. Doesn't mean that Pierce can't score 28 points in Game 4, it's simply the State of the Union when it comes to the matchup.

What was supposed to be a clear edge for the Celtics in the small forward position has been about a wash to this point (give Pierce credit for solid defense on Artest so far. Even Artest has been impressed, sort of. See if you can find the shot at Pierce in this comment -- don't think you'll need to hire Thomas Magnum to crack the case: "I actually thought he played really well defensively, extremely hard. And I'm not used to Pierce playing that hard. But he has guys that can score so he's sacrificing himself for the benefit of the team.") And it's no coincidence (sorry Paul) that the Lakers are up 2-1. 

For the Celtics to come back and win the series they need Paul Pierce to have some 2008 moments over the next four games.

For the Lakers to hold on and win the series they need Ron Artest to do exactly what he's done over the first three games.

One of the two will happen. But don't expect Artest or Pierce to be handing out credit when it's done.