Rajon Rondo has spoken candidly about the Heat-Celtics Finals series in 2011, specifically what happened with Dwyane Wade.
During the third quarter of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Rondo suffered an elbow injury after colliding with Wade and fell while his elbow was tangled.
“That particular play, it was kind of a freak accident,” Rondo explained on the View From the Rafters: Behind the Scenes with the Boston Celtics podcast. “After that, we were teammates, so there’s no bad blood, but I think he broke it on purpose.” Or attempted.”
The former Celtics guard went on to say that he didn’t think Wade was very good at basketball.
“He was playing, made a play on the ball, or tried to make a play on the ball and ended up making a play on my elbow,” Rondo said.
The diagnosis following the injury was a dislocated elbow and despite leaving the court after it happened, Rondo returned in the fourth and helped to get the C’s a 97-81 win over the Heat.
Rondo spoke about what his motivator was to keep playing through the pain.
“Adrenaline,” Rondo said. “Just like every other injury. For me, it was a mindset. I went back in the locker room… they’re trying to tell me I shouldn’t play. I’m like, ‘I gotta go. I’ll be back later, we can figure this out a couple weeks from now.’”
Incredibly, Rondo also played 38 minutes in Game 4 and another 30 in the Final, but it wasn’t enough to stop a Miami outfit steamrolling Boston.
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Rondo established himself as one of the top point guards in C’s history during his nine seasons at the franchise, where he won a championship during the 2007-08 season.
The guard made four All-Star teams in his time at Boston and was a big reason they made the playoffs so many times.
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