Rajon Rondo has spoken honestly about the 2011 Finals series between the Heat and Celtics, specifically what went down with Dwyane Wade.
Rondo suffered an elbow injury during the third quarter of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals after colliding with Wade and falling, while his elbow was tangled.
“That particular play, it was kind of a freak accident,” Rondo said on the View From the Rafters – Behind The Scenes with Boston Celtics podcast. “We were teammates after that so there’s no bad blood, but I think he broke it on purpose. Or tried.”
The former Celtics guard went on to explain that he didn’t think Wade was playing at the basketball at all.
“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.
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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