Getty Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics.
Former Boston Celtics big man Glen Davis got candid about the current team following their loss to the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals. While he wasn’t actively rooting against his former team, Davis told VladTV that he was happy that the Celtics lost because he believes they now know what it takes to win since they’ve experienced the atmosphere of every single round.
“I wasn’t happy, but I was ‘happy,'” Davis said. “Because there are different levels of the playoffs. Every level is a different level. (The) first round is the first round, but the energy is (at) a different level… But every level is so important, and now you guys understand the feeling of winning an Eastern Conference finals. You know what it takes to go to the finals. You know what it takes to close now. What energy you’ve got to have (and) what you’ve got to be able to do.”
Davis also vocalized his faith that the Celtics can win a championship with who they have in part because now they know the sting of losing when they had the chance to win it all.
“With the right guys that experience it, they’re going to win a championship because they hate that feeling of losing. I was happy (they had) that learning experience. The future’s bright when you got Jaylen Brown and (Jayson) Tatum really being all-stars.
Davis knows this firsthand, having been part of the last Celtics title team that in 2008. Davis was also a part of the team that made multiple playoff runs, including when the team lost in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010.
However, Davis also pinpointed who he believes was the culprit for why the Celtics lost that year.
Davis Blames Doc Rivers for Losing 2010 NBA Finals
Davis also told VladTV that he believes Rivers’ strategies of overplaying his veterans over players like Davis himself were what led to the Celtics losing to their storied rival in 2010.
“That was Doc’s fault. I blame that on Doc,” Davis said. “Doc has a mentality of rolling with his veterans. The guys that he feels like got him there, but when you go back to 2010, Game 4, right. That was my big breakout game… That game, we had to find energy from something else. It’s the same thing for Game 7, Doc. We’ve got to find the energy from somewhere else in Game 7. So, Rasheed Wallace playing all these minutes. (Kevin Garnett) playing all these minutes. You’ve got to let us give them some break. There was a period in the second half he didn’t sub.”
Davis believes that because he proved himself during Game 4, he deserved more time in that series.
“I’ve already proven myself in Game 4 that I can get things done. I can go out there and get us some quality buckets, quality shots. So, I feel like he didn’t use what truly got him there.”
That’s not the only issue that Davis blames Doc for.
Davis Believes Doc Ruined His Career
Davis re-joined Rivers in 2014 when the latter was both the head coach and president of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Clippers. A choice that Davis admitted was a mistake.
Davis believes this because of a specific incident against the Houston Rockets in which, following a heated argument between the two, Rivers had Davis escorted off the bench by security. Davis believes that the incident ruined his NBA career.
“I’m in the game against Houston, and I’m not playing a lot. He’s taking me out of the game real fast. I’m like, ‘Doc, what you brought me here for?’ I said it to him going down to the bench. This motherf***** kicked me out of the game. … [Security] escorted me out of the game. That s*** right there kills my career.”
Davis later elaborated that such an incident killed his career because it repulsed teams who could have potentially been interested in Davis in the offseason.
“That s*** killed my career because guess what? Other teams that need role players and veterans, what you think they thinking?”
Even though Davis has his issues with Rivers, he clearly still keeps tabs on the team that drafted him anyway.