Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett say they called Ray Allen
On Tuesday night Ray Allen will compete against his former team in Miami as the Heat host the Boston Celtics in what will be a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals.
After he watches his former team as the Heat raise their Championship banner and then plays against his old teammates, Allen says he wants to move on, but not before he gets a few more jabs in.
The former Celtic has been criticizing his former team and coach in the past few weeks for what he alleges as a lack of respect on their part.
Allen’s most recent accusations include him taking jabs at the credibility of his former coach Doc Rivers.
“Doc never called and said, ‘We want you to come back,’ ” Allen told ESPNBoston.com. “I can’t say I expected him to do that. It’s hard to say what the protocol is in those situations.”
But Rivers is saying Allen is all wrong as he told 98.5 The Sports Hub on Friday that he repeatedly tried calling him on several occasions.
“Ray was great for us, and I won’t go away from that,” Rivers said. “Why it ended the way it ended, I really don’t know. ”
“I think it was ego [more] than anything else.”
Allen also said he wasn’t receiving the level of respect he felt he should have in Boston and that he felt as though he was being cut out of the offense and ultimately the Celtics never tried to welcome him back.
Even star power forward Kevin Garnett has said that in addition to Rivers, he tried calling Allen multiple times to tell him how much the team wanted him back.
Regardless of all the drama, Allen will still have to play on Tuesday but will be in the comfort of Miami’s arena, where he most likely won’t be booed.
But the same can’t be said when the shooting guard inevitably returns to Boston this season and will have to face the wrath of the Celtics fans.
Despite all the drama, Allen will have to put the criticisms and bad-mouthing to bed, and soon, before it ruins his reputation on and off the court.
