Paul Pierce wasn't upset with teammate Ray Allen for skipping out on his jersey retirement ceremony, but rather with a different Allen, who also was a no-show when the Boston Celtics took on the Cleveland Cavaliers at the TD Garden on Sunday afternoon.
The all-time 3-point king posted an Instagram photo, congratulating George Lopez on a hole-in-one. Though Pierce wasn't upset by Allen fulfilling a prior commitment, but rather at former teammate Tony Allen, who also missed the occasion.
Pierce joked that his starting teammate lives in Miami, while the six-time All-NBA defender spent his first six seasons with Boston before becoming one of the staples of the Grit N' Grind culture in Memphis.
“A lot of guys weren’t there, and he lives — what? — in Miami,” said Pierce as a guest panelist in ESPN's the Jump. “To each his own, but I have no problem with that.”
Paul Pierce says he wasn’t disappointed Ray Allen was on the golf course yesterday pic.twitter.com/nzMrfuXGJQ
— Andrew Joseph (@AndyJ0seph) February 12, 2018
Pierce looked visibly uncomfortable during his retirement ceremony and it was the people who were not in attendance who made the headlines, rather than the ceremony itself.
While Tony Allen is in the middle of looking for a new team to join, Ray Allen has been enjoying the retired life for the last few years, and even if the two have buried the hatchet — there is still some level of underlying resentment between two of the original Big Three of this modern era.
Pierce's deflection is honorable in hopes not to bring any more shame to their relationship, but a lot of those present at the TD Garden expected his former sidekick to show.
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