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CRAIG SAGER: Theirs were careers at a crossroads. Last season Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen's respective teams were in various stages of rebuilding, and while there were certainly more All-Star games in their future, NBA championships seemed unlikely. Then, over the summer, Celtics GM Danny Ainge found a way to bring them together in Boston, and suddenly the question was not if this talented trio would get a shot at the NBA Finals, but who would take the shots when they got there. John Thompson talked to the new Big Three to find out ...
[cut to clips of Pierce, Allen, and KG hitting game-winning shots at the buzzer]
JOHN THOMPSON: What has been the most commonly asked question of you three guys since you've all gotten together in Boston?
RAY ALLEN: Uh, are there enough shots out on the floor?
KEVIN GARNETT: [laughs]
JT: Well, are there enough shots out on the floor?
KG: Absolutely, more than enough.
[clips of Ray Allen playing in preseason game versus Knicks]
RA: I don't even care about looking at the stat sheet anymore. Y'know, I wanna win, that's why I came here. I ... I hafta say I really didn't have a choice.
[everybody laughs]
RA: But ... I love, I was grateful that the trade was made. Um, I'm happy to be here, but, y'know, my goal here is to win.
JT: Y'know, all this stuff sounds great, that y'all are telling me ...
KG: [laughs]
JT: Is there any concern about this humility spilling over into the game, that you all will be so humble and so sharing that the real you won't come out?
KG: We're not telling you something that sounds good, or promotion ... what we're speaking is the God-honest truth. Everyday, everyday.
RA: I think about, just, the way I see the game, and I know these two guys are the same way. But, y'know, Paul will come down the floor and he might not initially have a shot, but he's gonna get a shot ...
[clip of Pierce missing a shot against Toronto and Garnett grabbing the offensive rebound and finishing with the dunk]
RA: But in the back of his mind, he knows Ray's over there, KG's right there. So, that gives him a little more confidence when he takes that shot, 'cause he knows either KG's gonna get a rebound, Perkins is gonna get the rebound, then we're gonna have another shot ...
KG: [to Allen] So you're trying to say he missed the shot?
PAUL PIERCE: [laughs]
RA: Naw, he ... Naw, he made a lotta shots!
KG: You said he missed the shot!
RA: Naw, no he didn't miss the shot at all.
JT: [to Garnett] He said you could get the rebound!
KG: [to Allen] Yeah, you said me and Perk could get the rebound! You said it!
RA: But no, I'm gonna tell you ...
KG: They got it on tape!
RA: I'm gonna tell you, no lie, from a shooter's perspective, if I take a long shot ...
KG: It's confident.
RA: It's confident, because I know two things. I'm, first of all, I know I'm gonna make it ...
KG: Okay.
RA: I'm going up to make it, and then, in the back of my mind I say, "If I don't make it, KG got a rebound" ...
JT: What will the people of Boston expect?
PP: In Boston, they expect a championship. Y'know, you go into our arena, you go into our gym everyday, they don't put up the conference banners. They put up all the championship banners. Uh, so that's the level of expectation just around the whole city. I mean, every sport, whether it's the football team, baseball team. That's gonna be the level of expectation, I mean, and we have to deal with that.
JT: The Big Three ... [to Allen] Even call this boy Jesus [laughs] ... From the movie, from the movie.
RA: There's a lotta nicknames around here, I think.
[clips of McHale, Parish, and Bird]
JT: What do you guys think about, when they call you the Big Three, when you're referred to as the Big Three?
PP: To me, nicknames are earned. I mean, people are gonna say whatever they want to say ... We haven't earned that yet, y'know, so it's all what people are gonna look at us as. Until we go out there and show them what we're capable of, we don't have a name right now.
RA: Y'know, when we retire, then we can talk about this, y'kow, the great things we've done, hopefully, in this situation. But right now, y'know ... people call me "Jesus", that's "The Ticket", and this "The Truth".
[clip from February 2005 interview Thompson conducted with Garnett, where Kevin answered the question of what's driving him by continually repeating "I'm losing"]
JT: I did an interview with you, which I thought was one of the most touching and honest interviews, and you came to tears about how concerned you were about winning and playing with guys who really wanted to win, and ... do you think you have that now, Kevin?
KG: I definitely have that. I definitely have that, um, I'm probably out of the three of us ...
[Allen reaches over and pats him on the shoulder]
KG: [laughing]
RA: You alright?
KG: Hey, it's a hard time, boy!
JT: No, no, let him cry!
[everybody laughs]
KG: I'm probably more grateful for this opportunity more than anything. When you win, or when you've had some success, a little bit of success in this league, um, you tend to bond with that. And when you get that taken away from you, because of many reasons or whatever the reasons are, it hurts. And, uh, I'm rejuvenated, man. I'm definitely rejuvenated, I'm excited about, um, not only this team, but the opportunity, um, to play along, y'know, two guys that understand me and fill me.
JT: You need my handkerchief?
KG: Nah, I'm good [laughs]
JT: Paul, you got your help now ...
PP: [laughs]
JT: How's it feel?
PP: I couldn't be happier. Y'know, this is more than I even asked for. Uh, we all come from same situations and, y'know, I say to myself I'm thankful because you don't get these type of opportunities in the NBA ...
KG: Nope.
PP: Playing with players like this.
KG: Right.
PP: And, uh, I'm gonna make the most of it, y'know. I felt like I lost a lotta motivation in the last few years, because of the situation I've been in. And, uh, I'm gonna soak this all up and I'm gonna take full advantage of having these guys with me, as we try to reach for a higher goal.
JT: Jesus, can we have your blessing?
[everybody laughs]
RA: Man ...
[back to the TNT studios]
CS: Hey, the career numbers for these guys, you see their playoff records [KG is 17-30 in the postseason, Pierce is 16-21, and Allen in 18-19], and all have been to the conference finals, have not gotten to that ultimate dance at this point. Magic, lot of expectations here, and a lot of folks making them kind of the sexy pick in the East. Are you one of them?
MAGIC JOHNSON: Not yet. I think ... first of all, let's give Danny Ainge a lotta credit. Executive of the Year, no question about it. All three of them have had great individual success, now how do they come together and be a championship team right in the first season? Kinda hard to do, but I do think that they will go to the Easteren Conference finals. I don't think that they'll go to the champinoship, I see those other teams having a little bit more team. And the only other question I have Charles is, who's gonna lead them at that point guard position? Who's gonna get them their shots? Who's gonna say, hey guys, when we're not playing well, and, uh, we gotta get into the flow of the game, who's gonna be the guy who's gonna lead them? That's the only question I got Kenny, is that.
KENNY SMITH: Well, see Magic, the point guard situation, playing with great players and not being as good as them and being a point guard, I've been in that position. So, one thing ... the biggest thing you have to learn is to say no. Because, and it's not always the best player, the great players come to you and they give you that argumentative "I want the ball!" Sometimes they come to you and say "Young fella I was wide open, did you see me?" And it's a passionate way, but you still have to be able to say "Nah, you weren't open" ...
CS: So Rajon Rondo's gonna hear that ...
KS: Rajon Rondo's gotta understand, the pressure is, to say no sometimes because Kevin's gonna come to him, "Young fella, I'm open down low" ... "Oh Ray, Ray look, I'm comin' around them screens, I'm gonna be open" ... "Paul, you know in the post, I've got this guy, so look" ... No. Sometimes you gotta say no.
CHARLES BARKLEY: I think the biggest advantage they have, they all three great guys. That's the hugest, that's the biggest advantage they got. All three of them are obviously terrific players, but they're really good guys. So, they got a really good chance of making it work. I agree with Magic, I'm still gonna stick with New Jersey to win the East, that's my pick, but they got a good chance, because all three of them are great guys.
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