Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen helped lead the Boston Celtics to their 17th NBA championship back in 2008. They went on to play another four seasons as a trio, with Pierce and Garnett playing an extra year in 2013, after Allen joined the Miami Heat the summer prior.
Unfortunately, they were never able to hang the 18th banner, coming up short in a Game 7 against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010. Aside from that second Finals run, Boston’s Big 3 wasn’t able to reach the big stage again.
There are many things that can be pointed at as a cause for the trio’s failure to win more than one title. Coaching is one of them. Head coach Doc Rivers has become notorious for fumbling away playoff leads, something he did with the Celtics thrice (3-2 in 2009 vs. the Orlando Magic, 3-2 vs. the Lakers in 2010, and 3-2 vs. Miami in 2012).
Another major theme throughout the Pierce, Garnett, and Allen era was tough injury luck. It all started with Garnett injuring his knee in February of 2009 — a year that Boston was looking to be unstoppable. In the next season, Kendrick Perkins tore his ACL in the NBA Finals, causing the Cs to fall to L.A. The ailments continued to pile up in the following campaigns, forcing the Celtics to turn to some unusual starters.
Some players were able to hold their own, but others weren’t as effective. In this piece, we’ll take a look at some of the worst starters to join the Big 3 on the parquet.
In order to qualify, each player will have had to start in at least 20 total games while Pierce, Garnett, and Allen were members of the Celtics.