The Boston Celtics were on the verge of winning their second NBA championship in three years in 2010. They revamped their team by adding veteran Rasheed Wallace, who played 79 games that year and was an important piece to the team. He was expected to be the backup to both Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, but Wallace would end up playing more games than both of them.
Boston finished 50-32 in the regular season, which was good for first in the division. It was a rather easy run to the Finals. The C’s only lost one game in the first series against Miami and then two games to Cleveland and Orlando in the following matchups leading to the Finals, a matchup that was a rematch from just two years prior, defeating the Lakers in six games in 2008.
Unfortunately, starting center Kendrick Perkins injured his knee in Game 6 and was ruled out for Game 7. This promoted Wallace to the starting lineup.
Wallace recently said that the main reason the Celtics didn’t win Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals was a lack of chemistry and personal issues within the team.
“We came up on the short end, in my opinion, because of personal shit… but we could’ve had it, it was a great game.”
Wallace explains that the core players— Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kendrick Perkins— didn’t have great chemistry with the rest of the team.
“That team had prior beef before I got there between their major guys.”
Wallace also explains how his lone season in Boston altered his opinion of then head coach Doc Rivers.
“I’m not a huge Glenn fan. Not just from that game. But from certain games throughout the season because my thing was ‘okay, I signed with ya’ll because of some things that you told me’… you told me one thing and ended up doing another, so now, I’m still going to be professional about it, I’m not going to sabotage the team, I’m going to play my part.”
This was certainly interesting to hear from Wallace about that 2010 run to the Finals with the Celtics. He logged 35 minutes and scored 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting, eight rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
You can listen to the podcast here:
Follow us on Twitter @CelticsFiles
Follow me on Twitter @Trombino20
Photo Credit: Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images
The Celtics Files 