Doc Rivers can’t stand that his 2008 championship-winning Celtics remain divided, saying he wishes they could get past their differences.
Chatter surrounding the fractured team resurfaced this week, with Ray Allen saying he didn’t expect any congratulatory messages from his former teammates ahead of being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday.
Allen’s relationship with the rest of the team turned particularly sour when he moved to the rival Miami Heat in 2012.
“As years have gone on, things have been fractured, and I hate it, I hate seeing it,” Rivers told reporters on Tuesday.
“I would love this [to be a] celebration for Ray. Not a lot to say here about it. Ray won us a title. He really did.
“I think he should be celebrated. I think he should be celebrated in Boston. He’s responsible for that banner.”
Rivers said he wanted to help his old players bury the hatchet.
“If I had one wish, I wish I could do a better job of getting that group back together,” he said.
“I can get a lot of them back together; I just can’t get the whole group. They really should be because they were so close, and it really hurts me to see what’s going on.”
Earlier this week, Allen said he’d patched things up with Paul Pierce.
But from all reports, his relationships with Garnett and Rondo remain icy.
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