Ray Allen Says Paul Pierce Would Intentionally Take Games Off With Celtics in New Book

While commending Kevin Garnett for the tenacity he brought every single game, Ray Allen threw Paul Pierce under the bus for purposely taking some nights off.

This is a picture of Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.
Getty

Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images

This is a picture of Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.

The Ray Allen memoir has reared its ugly head once again. As the widely discussed book, From the Outside: My Journey Through Life and the Game I Love, nears its March 27 release date, Boston.com was able to share a few new excerpts, including one allegation that could potentially hurt the relationship that Allen and former Boston Celtics teammate Paul Pierce have worked so hard to revive.

“Allen also appreciated Garnett’s everlasting tenacity — an intangible trait that he felt didn’t necessarily light up the stat sheet.

Upset over his propensity to take some games off, Allen confronted Pierce about his lax demeanor in certain contests, which led to The Truth avoiding voicing those sentiments in the future.

“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.”

The beef with Pierce stems from Allen’s decision to join the Miami Heat in 2012. Pierce was upset that his former teammate would sign with a rival team. Their feud lasted five years before officially coming to an end when The Truth posted a photo of them at a celebrity basketball game in Shanghai on Instagram earlier this year with the hashtag #burythehatchet. 

Hopefully, Allen enjoyed that brief moment when they were on good terms because their relationship is about to get real bad, real fast. 

Latest in Sports