Honestly I think PIerce and Rondo hate each other. Pierce since the Walker/Pierce era has been notorious for being slow to embrace young players. I remember hearing that they basically ignored Joe Johnson when he was starting to play well. I think the battle of the egos and the big 3 holding onto their clique while Rondo was emerging was the main cause of our chemistry issues this season. In retrospect, all the trade rumors in the offseason was probably a result of the Big 3 wanting Rondo gone. I think it's glossed over how much of a divide there is between the young and old players on this team. We've been hearing whispers about it for 2 seasons. I think there is respect... and I think they get the job done... (someone already mentioned Mchale and bird disliking each other)... but I fully believe Pierce and Rondo hate each other.
Yeah, I'm not convinced Pierce is in love with Rondo's newfound star status....
In post-game interviews they give each other praise... but you still see half-time interviews with Jackie Mcmillan and "The Big 3"... while Rondo does his own half-time interview with Magic Johnson. I can't think of one time I've ever seen someone sit down with "The Big 4". They are reluctantly accepting him, but I don't think they are inviting him out to dinner.
I'm relatively sure that's more due to the media pumping up the Big Three as opposed to them refusing to include him in interviews.
Quite frankly, I think it's preposterous to even suggest that Pierce has an issue with Rondo's growth as a player given the way he, KG, and Ray willingly sacrificed their own production for the sake of winning in 08. If anything, they can trust him more now and let him take on some of the responsibility.
As far as them not "liking" each other - who cares? You don't have to be pals with people on the floor. I mean, I'm relatively sure Pau Gasol & Kobe Bryant or Deron Williams & Carlos Boozer don't go clubbing together on the weekends, that's not important. What's important is that they can put it away and go to work when it matters, which they've managed to do.
Clearly, we're all obsessing about it more than they are...
