The Boston Celtics were the originator of the Big 3. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen united in a teaming that resulted in an NBA championship in 2008 and an NBA Finals appearance in 2010. However, when Allen left for the Miami Heat in the summer of 2012, Pierce and Garnett turned their noses at him, referring to the veteran as a trader. Now the Big 3 come full circle in the ongoing second round of the playoffs, but Allen is not worried about the tension on or off the court.
When Allen left for Miami, Garnett claimed he lost his phone number. Now wearing a Brooklyn Nets uniform after a trade from the Celtics, Pierce and Garnett are seeking a bit of pay back on Allen, but he is not focused on that.
"My focus has been here," Allen said, via USA Today. "Since I got here, these guys have welcomed me, made me feel very welcome and my family as well and made me a brother. Here, it's felt like I've been for a while, so I don't worry about on the outside. We've got to keep a tight unit here. It doesn't make a difference to me. It's a second-round opponent. ... regardless of who we were playing, we would've been in here doing what we need to do."
Allen is not letting the matchup with Garnett and Pierce change his perspective that it is merely just another playoff series that stands in the way of the Heat winning a third-straight NBA title. The guard got the best of his former teammates in Game 1, putting up 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting. He went vintage going 4-for-7 from beyond the arc as the Heat cruised to a victory.
"It wasn't any different than any other game," Allen said. "Those other five guys on the other team are blank to me. Regardless of who they are, you just have a team that you want to beat and you have to do what you can to beat them."
Allen's calm perspective on the matchup is much different from Pierces. The veteran told ESPN before Game 1 that he did not like LeBron James or the rest of the Miami Heat roster, saying it was merely basketball and nothing else. Despite the Game 1 loss, the Nets still feel like they can be dominant against the Heat much like the regular season where they swept the team in four games.