Tag: Rajon Rondo

Paul Pierce is NOT Going to Be Happy With What Ray Allen Had to Say About Him

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The Boston Globe – In an upcoming book, titled “From the Outside: My Journey through Life and the Game I Love,” the retired guard opens up about his relationships not only with the sport, but also with past teammates and coaches…“Allen also appreciated Garnett’s everlasting tenacity — an intangible trait that he felt didn’t necessarily light up the stat sheet. “He never took a game off. A possession off,” he wrote. “I can’t say that of anyone else I played with, and I played with some of the best.”…”Paul Pierce, on the other hand, would explicitly announce he was “taking the night off” when matched up against a player who wasn’t considered to be elite. Pierce’s attitude ticked Allen off. He was sure to express his disapproval to Pierce, who eventually no longer joked about taking it easy.

I just don’t get you Ray Allen. I feel like I’m dealing with Rocket Raccoon here.

Here I thought Ray and KG and Pierce and Rondo (not really) were all trying to smooth things over so they could reunite for the 10 year reunion of the 2008 championship. But instead Ray is in open rebellion against the crown. He’s currently promoting a new book, which takes plenty of shots at Rondo, who clapped back with a haymaker, and now he’s accusing Paul Pierce (the guy who was literally just inducted into the Celtics HOF) of dogging it.

“No player should ever have a night off,” Allen wrote. “The worst player in the NBA would not be in the NBA if he weren’t good, which means he has the potential to beat you on any given night. And if you think you have to put forth a greater effort against the top players, you clearly aren’t giving enough of an effort against everyone else.”

How I imagine Paul Pierce responding to Ray’s completely random shot?

What’s the matter with you Ray? If you want to get into pissing matches with Rondo thats one thing. You guys always hated each other and everyone knew it. He even refers to his teammate and starting point guard as a “role player” that was wrecking the chemistry of the Celtics.

“Rondo, eager to adopt an even bigger role, was “altering the dynamic that had worked so well for [the team] in 2008.” “I didn’t have quite the same feeling about the direction we were heading in as I had the year before,” Allen wrote. “No Ubuntu in this group.”

Jesus dude. But to start talking shit about the captain? The guy whose number 34 now hangs in the rafters? The one guy who could bring you back into the Celtics family? Welp ya done fucked that up now.

Its a shame, but it doesn’t look like Ray Allen and his old Celtics teammates will ever be buddies again. And I gotta say I have to believe that has more to do with Ray than it does the other three guys. This isn’t Mean Girls. Rondo, KG, and Pierce aren’t ganging up on Ray because he didn’t wear pink on Wednesday.

This is a microcosm of all the little things we always heard. Like how Ray never showed up to his teammates’ charity events when they all showed up to his? Stuff like that on top of how he skipped town to join his team’s blood rival and help the other guys win a title? I wanna let bygones be bygones, but it seems like Ray Allen does not.

PS – I legitimately may have to buy Ray’s book for the Kevin Garnett stories alone. The Boston Globe mentions yet another story of KG trying to get Joakim Noah to kill himself.

“When Joakim Noah once congratulated Garnett on a step-back jumper and asked if he could teach him the shot — an exchange Allen said was common between players in the NBA — Garnett responded, “Get off my dick.”

Paul Pierce Says the Celtics Would Have Won 70 Games With a Healthy KG in 2009

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CelticsWire – One of the great questions about the KG-Paul Pierce-Ray Allen Big Three era is what would’ve happened if they weren’t beset by injuries. They were the league’s hottest team in 2009 after winning the title, before Kevin Garnett went down with a leg injury. In 2010, they made it to Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Lakers, but lost without Kendrick Perkins who suffered a torn ACL in Game 6. They were hot again the next season before Shaq’s career came to an early end due to lingering calf injuries, falling to the Heat in five games in the conference semis.

I mean, he’s not wrong. The Celtics were absolutely dominant right out of the gate in 2007 on the way to a 66-16 record and the Larry O’Brien trophy. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen had played a grand total of 0 games together before rolling to a 20-2 start. That is insane. KG was Defensive Player of the Year, Paul Pierce was NBA Finals MVP, and Danny Ainge was Executive of the Year.

All of that was in Year 1. Imagine how good they would have been in Year 2 with a fully healthy team?

“I say it all the time, I thought we could have three-peated,” Pierce said. “Because if you look, we won I think 62 games the second year after we won it. Kevin got hurt after 30 games, so we played 40 games and the playoffs without Kevin and still won 60 games. I believe we were somewhere around 29-2. Everybody was talking about us winning 70.

“If Kevin was healthy, we probably would have won 70 games. 2010 we coasted. We only won 50 games and when the playoffs come, we turned it up and got to the Finals.”

One of the most dominant teams of the century was rounding into form in Year 2 with 3 hungry Hall of Famers before a KG injury shot that all to hell. In more recent interviews you hear about how Garnett was never really the same again after that injury. Sure they made the Finals the following year when he came back, but after 2010 they became the old, wily veterans just getting by on grit and balls. That narrative produced my favorite Celtics commercial of all-time by the way.

But the days of winning 70 games and NBA titles had passed.

Something I say all the time when people chirp Boston fans is that you will never care about your teams more than we do. Even after all the winning. Boston has had an incredible run of success going back to 2001 with all 4 major teams, BUT we also have experienced some of the most heartbreaking losses, which only helps to fuel that fire. I won’t list them all here because I don’t want to smash my laptop at work, but the 2010 NBA Finals Game  7 will forever have a spot on that list. Going for their second title in three years against the Lakers in LA. Perk had blown out his knee the game before and the Celtics were relying on bum ass Rasheed Wallace who was sucking air from the tip. It was a slow bleed too. You could feel the game slipping away and the Celtics just couldn’t put it away.

The Big Three Celtics will be forever remembered as the ones that raised Banner 17 and how they completely changed the culture of the Celtics. We’ll always say what if though. What if KG was healthy, what if Danny didn’t trade Perk for Jeff Fucking Green, what if LeBron didn’t go Super Saiyan and drop 45 and 15 on us in Game 6.

Now I need to cheer myself up, so enjoy this trip down memory lane.

Rondo and Isaiah Thomas Get Into It, Both Get Ejected. I Miss These Guys

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Yahoo – Isaiah Thomas and Rajon Rondo got into a scuffle and were both ejected from Wednesday night’s game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers. And it stems from Boston Celtics beef. The two were each handed double technical fouls and given the boot. While it wasn’t immediately clear from game action why the two were so chippy, the announcers and Twitter speculated that the altercation stemmed from drama over Paul Pierce’s jersey retirement with the Celtics. It started when Thomas, who was due a brief honor from the Celtics after being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, asked to have his Boston moment moved to the same night of Pierce’s jersey retirement. The request didn’t have anything to do with Pierce, but Thomas’ desire to have his honor on a night that he would be healthy and playing.

I feel for Isaiah Thomas, I really do. Its like when you break up with a girl and move onto bigger and better things while your ex just spirals downward. He got hurt, got traded to Cleveland and surprise surprise didn’t get along with LeBron, got blamed for a shit Cavs team, and got traded again to the basement dwelling Lakers. And now he’s got Rondo giving him the business.

We had a great time together, watching IT was some of the most fun I’ve had watching the Celtics since KG and Pierce roamed the parquet. So I’ll always have a place in my heart for Isaiah.

BUT, Rondo, man. Rajon Rondo is a ride or die. The guy hasn’t played for the Celtics since 2014 and he still reps Boston just as hard.

Nobody crosses Paul Pierce on Rondo’s watch.

When Rondo was the precocious young point guard, KG took him under his wing and turned Rajon into a bulldog.

Something about Rondo just being a dickhead always endured him to Celtics fans. Like he was his own version of a Masshole. He was at one point compared to Chris Paul as the best PG in the league and Danny Ainge once even tried to trade him for Russell Westbrook straight up, which is laughable now. People forget how good Rondo once was though. But Rondo always showed up to ball and he was always ready to start a fist fight if need be.

I’ll never forget when Dwyane Wade basically broke Rondo’s arm on a dirty play under the hoop and Rondo came back into the game playing with one fucking arm.

 

I respect a good grudge and you just know Rondo, Pierce, and KG still have a deep hatred in their hearts for LeBron, Wade, and probably Ray Allen too. Those guys are a family and you never go against family. In Rondo’s mind, IT disrespected Pierce by asking for his tribute on the same night that No. 34 was going up into the rafters. You disrespect the family and Rondo’s coming for your head.

Ubuntu. Omerta. Whatever you wanna call it, nobody is disrespecting the Celtics legends. Not while Rajon Rondo still walks this earth.

I hate to see my two exes fighting in public, but goddamnit if it doesn’t remind me why I once loved them both.

LeBron Gives Celtics Rivalry Some Juice with Latest Comments on Kyrie Irving

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I for one am ecstatic that the Celtics-LeBron rivalry is getting some much needed juice. I’ll always love going up against LeBron, but it really hasn’t been the same since the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. Ya know when he ripped our guts out in Game 6 with an otherworldly performance? Yea that was the final stand of the Big 3 and the launching of the LeBron we know now.

Its been a long road back but the Celtics are finally competing with LeBron for a trip to the Finals once again. He’s just been the one coming out of the East for the last 7 years in a row… So its been a little one sided. And while playing LeBron is always contentious, I feel like we haven’t really had that venom since Pierce, KG, and Rondo left the team. Rondo was the last guy who visibly hated LeBron James. So these games just haven’t had that extra juice.

Until now.

Kyrie Irving seemed to have had enough of LeBron son-ing him and by LeBron’s comments at Media Day today I can see why.

“I tried to do whatever I could to help the kid out and be the best player he could be…Other than that, I wish the kid great health and the kid wanted to do what’s best for his career.” via UPROXX

THAT. That right there is the condescending shit I’m sure Irving was sick of. Now, yes, LeBron is the best player in the world and you’d be stupid not to take his advice, but there comes a time and a point where you gotta stop treating people like children, which LeBron seems to be missing here.

Bleacher Report even said as much, citing a Stephen A. Smith report on the situation:

“James showed a little disrespect Monday while referring to his former teammate as “the kid,” which was apparently an underlying problem in their relationship. Stephen A. Smith of The Undefeated noted there was a problem of the veteran treating Irving like a child.”

So Kyrie said enough of this shit and shot his way out of town. Followed up by cryptic silences and then his since viral appearance on First Take where he basically told LeBron to fuck himself.

Now we’ve got LeBron coming out with this sob story like a scorned lover saying “I tried to do whatever I could to help the kid out.”

Don’t give me that bullshit LeBron. Kyrie Irving carried the Cavs down the stretch in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals and hit the goddamn game winner and ya didn’t even mention his name once afterwards. So Kyrie was over it, time to move on. Now what would make it all the sweeter? Beating LeBron on the way of course.

But, I gotta give respect where its due though because thats what makes me a Big-J Journalist. As soft as LeBron comes off at times, this was an A+ response when asked what advice he’d give Kyrie now. Sounds like something Kobe would have said in his prime:

“If my son went to another team and asked for advice, I ain’t giving him s–t,” he told the media, per Ben Axelrod of WKYC.

Does Rajon Rondo’s Dominance in the Playoffs Help Redeem His Image Around the NBA?

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Win or lose, if nothing else I hope this Bulls series has helped redeem Rajon Rondo’s name in the eyes of Celtics fans (and around the NBA) and of course the cantankerous Boston media. This is a guy who was a key component of the Celtics first championship in 20+ years and these days the media talks about him like a total bust who sunk the franchise. I swear these people revel in ripping the guy. I mean we all know the stories of how Rondo is a dickhead, smokes little kids in Connect Four, but thats part of what endeared him to Celtics fans and thats part of what makes him a ruthless competitor.

Its also been wild to see the Celtics point guard of yesterday whom they had once planned to build around going head to head with his direct replacement in Isaiah Thomas.

So even if it was short lived, with Rondo busting his thumb, it was fun seeing the old Rondo out there dropping dimes, driving defenses nuts and generally quarterbacking a team as he dismantled the Celtics. I don’t know where that Rondo has been the last couple of years, maybe getting traded to Dallas then getting picked up off the scrap heap from Sacramento had his “Fuck This” attitude firing on all cylinders, but it was fun watching that guy again. (Reports say Rondo may play in Game 5 now)

So is Rondo a mature adult who takes setbacks and more specifically authority and discipline all that well? Nope, the guy is a big kid. Ya know, like half the league. But put him on a decent team, give him the keys to the offense and let him do his thing? Thats the guy I remember dropping triple doubles in the playoffs, the guy slapping the floor begging to guard LeBron, the guy who played with one hand after Dwyane Wade broke his fucking arm. (Still an outrageously dirty play, so yea not exactly shocking that Rondo ripped his new teammate Wade this season.)

It was good to see THIS guy back.

So Felger and Mazz can cut the shit ranting and raving about how Celtics fans pumped up Rondo as some false prophet when in reality he was a bum. Put him on the right team and this guy is a one man show. So hopefully he pops a couple Senzu Beans and we see him again in this series because the Rondo resurgence has been too short lived and I need more of it.

PS – Say what you will, that short sleeve suit was balling. Its called fashion guys, have a little class.

GRUDGE ALERT: Rondo, Pierce and Garnett are Planning to Celebrate the 2008 Championship. Without Ray Allen

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The Undefeated – “Just like Rajon Rondo used to set up the fast break for the Boston Celtics, he is setting up a vacation with his former Celtics teammates from the 2008 NBA championship team to celebrate the nearing of the 10-year anniversary of their title. This party, however, doesn’t include an invite to ex-Celtics star guard Ray Allen. “I asked a couple of the guys. I got a no, a no head shake,” said Rondo to The Undefeated when asked why Allen wasn’t invited.”

If there’s anyone that can hold a grudge it’s Rajon fucking Rondo. It’s been five years since Ray Allen ditched the Celtics to chase a ring with blood rival Miami. And Rajon still wants Ray dead.

“It will be a long story about that, but it is what it is,” Rondo, who plays for the Chicago Bulls, told The Undefeated. “I don’t know a good analogy to put this in. It just wasn’t the greatest separation. It wasn’t the greatest thing that could’ve happened to us as a team, a bond. We were at war with those guys [Miami]. To go with the enemy, that’s unheard-of in sports. Well, it’s not so unheard of. It’s damn near common now.”

I actually find it refreshing. Everyone is friends in the NBA now. It’s the AAU generation, all these guys grew up playing on teams together and then once they’re playing against each other in the NBA they just publicly opine about how they wanna play together or in Miami’s case massively collude to get it done. We need more venom in this league.

Now I’m sure all those stories over the years of how Rajon and Ray just didn’t ever get along contribute to this. For whatever reason they just always kind hated each other. Kinda like Jesus Shuttlesworth and his dad really, but I digress…

It’s not only Rondo though. Garnett and Pierce are like old college roommates, they’re still boys. But Ray never seems to be included in that circle of trust. It sounds like he always kind of kept his teammates at arms length, even in the good old days. I remember a story of how Ray was the only guy not to show up for teammates’ charity events like a total asshole. This isn’t football where theres like 50+ guys on the roster. This is basketball where you only have to deal with 10-12 guys.

Even Pierce let some venom slip in an old interview. This seems more like someone who got dumped w/o explanation and harbors resentment for the way it ended.

“That was a tough situation because we thought it was betrayal,” Pierce said. “That’s why the whole thing evolved like it did with us not talking to him. Ray didn’t really have the best relationship with Rondo anyway. That was nothing. [Rondo], me and Kevin, he didn’t have any talk with us [before his Miami decision].”

And don’t forget when KG basically told Ray to go piss up a rope when he came back as a member of the Heat and tried to dap him up. Denied.

It’s a shame the Celtics didn’t win another title when Garnett, Pierce and Allen were all here. Seems like they definitely should’ve won 2 if not 3 rings together. Ray did exactly what he set out to do though. He jumped ship and singlehandedly saved LeBron’s ass and pretty much delivered him a ring with that corner 3 in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals, which is probably what hurts his former teammates the most.

Tom Brady Loses His Shit After Dropping a Game of Ping Pong; Cements Reputation as Legendary Competitor

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Tom-Brady-Yelling

Yahoo Sports – “He’s the best teammate,” Amendola said of Brady. “He’s so competitive and what-not. I remember one story. It was my first week in the building. He wanted to play some ping-pong. I didn’t really know how to go about it. I know I was better than him. I didn’t want to beat him too bad because I wanted him to throw me the ball. “I knew I was better. Needless to say, his competitive nature unleashed a broken paddle by the end of it. It the reason why we love him, and the reason why he’s the best quarterback.”

What a phenomenal story; Tom Brady losing in a game of ping pong and just losing his shit and smashing the paddle into 1,000 pieces. It only adds to the legend that is Tom Brady. Listen, anyone can win 4 Super Bowl titles, multiple MVPs and Super Bowl MVPs, but it comes down to the uber, ultra competitive guys that go down as legends. Like Michael Jordan doing anything necessary to win, playing mental warfare with guys like the time he wrecked Muggsy Bogues’ career by pulling up in a playoff game and telling him “Shoot it you fucking midget.”

Or how about Kobe Bryant now that he’s retired legit naming his new company “13.” Chris Sacca shared a story of how Kobe landed on that name on Bill Simmons’ podcast relaying,  “Can you believe they drafted 12 other motherfuckers before me? He still wears that, man.”

And then of course, the classic story of a young Dustin Pedroia training at the famed Athletes Performance Institute in Arizona playing ping pong and shit talking 6’4″ Brady Quinn: “I’m going to rip this ball right off your throat,” Pedroia told him.

I want guys on my teams that lose their minds about losing in anything. Not the JD Drew’s and Adrian Gonzalez’s of the world who could give a shit.

P.S. – I’d be remiss to not mention Rajon Rondo just hammering little kids in Connect Four. Savage.

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Rondo Tossed With 6.7 Seconds Left in the Game

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Legitimately laugh out loud funny. Rajon Rondo has proven more and more since he left the Celtics that he just does. not. care. – pair that with Boogie Cousins and you have a Bash Brothers duo of basket cases. Rondo getting tossed with 6.7 seconds left, while UP by 14 pts (and Cousins earning a 1 game suspension for receiving his league leading 16th Technical Foul of the season) is outrageous.  Rondo has that Happy Gilmore simmering rage that will inevitably explode on a mini-golf clown.

The sarcastic clap is like something you do in a Rec league when you’re getting run out of the gym at the Y. I will forever love Rondo because he was such an odd cat, super competitive (laying the wood on kids in Connect 4), and always relished the audience of big games — but notice how over the years he went from “mercurial” in Boston to now a guy who routinely gets in fights with coaches and refs and gets ejected at a pretty good clip. Goes to show how easy it is to lose your focus when the Big Ticket isn’t screaming in your face 82 nights a year.