When Ray Allen landed in Boston during the 2007 offseason, the C’s were instantly labeled as the biggest favorites to win the NBA title the next season. Allen teamed up with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett at the TD Garden, having a terrific run their first season together.
Boston would win the NBA title in 2008 against the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the biggest force in the league. They had a good 5-year run together, but everything finished when Allen decided to leave Boston to join their then biggest rivals, the LeBron James-led Miami Heat.
There was a big rivalry between both teams during that time. Miami beat Boston twice in the playoffs the LeBron era, so that move wasn’t well-received by Celtics fans and players. Of course, Allen made his teammates mad, even though he explained why he made that decision, but that wasn’t enough for the C’s, especially Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo.
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers was in charge of the Celtics during that time, and he recently had the chance to reflect on his time with the 17x NBA champions, taking the blame for Allen’s departure to South Beach.
Rivers joined Jeff Goodman and Bob Ryan of CLNS Media Network to discuss the feud between Allen and his former teammates. Rivers explained they (the players) won a title because they were stubborn, but also said that that was the same reason why things fell apart between them.
Doc Rivers reveals who is to blame for the Ray Allen rift that broke up the Big 3 in an exclusive interview with @GoodmanHoops & @GlobeBobRyan on @CLNSMedia #Celtics content presented by @betonline_ag
🎥WATCH FULL CLIP HERE: https://t.co/EVkg6NL2Xb pic.twitter.com/cUhaawIrkz
— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) April 3, 2020
That Celtics team was finally dismantled in 2013 when Pierce and Garnett were shipped to Brooklyn in a blockbuster trade with the Nets.
Doc said he’d like to see Allen attending Kevin Garnett’s jersey retirement in the 2020/21 season, claiming Ray would be ‘shocked’ to see the reaction of the fans and the ovation he’d get at the Garden.
Allen seems to get along with Paul Pierce. He even congratulated the forward on Instagram when his jersey was retired.
Before the NBA suspended the season, Rivers was leading the Clippers, trying to win their first NBA championship with the likes of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. He’s taking advantage of this time, trying to fix the broken relationship between his former pupils.
