Doc: Paul Talked More Trash Than Rondo

Doc Rivers on WEEI:

Did he cross the line with Chris Paul?

No, that wasn’t confidence. I don’t know what that was. Chris did an
interesting thing. I think he thought that he got under Rondo’s skin
during the game so he tried to continue it during the game. It was a
learning less for Rajon. After the game he even said, ‘I can’t let talk
affect my play.’ And it did in that game. That’s what players do. They
think they can get you in any way, they’ll do it. Chris Paul did it.

Everyone is portraying Rondo as the antagonist, but it sounds like he was responding to what Chris Paul was doing.

Which is fine. I told him, it’s a competition, and it’s great to
play in great competition, but once the game is over then the
competition is over and you let it go. I thought during the game it was
more Paul. That’s part of competition. But once the game is over, you
let it go. You shake the guys hand and say we’ll get you again.

According to Doc, Paul did most of the talking during the game and Rondo carried it too far after the game ended.

I knew Paul had to be the antagonist. Rondo can be cocky, but what we saw from him that night was out-of-character.

Case closed.

(h/t to reader rcry)

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