Rajon Rondo’s behavior in the Eastern Conference Semifinals became an interesting subtopic of Ian Thomsen’s discussion about the 2010-2011 Boston Celtics’ hatred for the Miami Heat with Zach Lowe on The Lowe Post podcast. Rondo lost his composure, with the Celtics down 2-0, setting the tone for the rest of the series.

“The day before the game, Rondo has not played well in the series, Doc (Rivers) is getting on him because they need him to be great. And Rondo blows up and throws a bottle of Vitamin Water at the TV screen. Splashes all over Doc, breaks the screen. Rondo walks out of the meeting. They spend the next 24 hours wondering if they’re going to suspend him.”

Rondo’s outburst left the team scarred and nearly earned him a seat on the bench. The Celtics’ anger towards their star point guard escalated to the point where Thomsen cites an assistant coach stating, “The basketball gods are amazing (expletive),” in response to Rondo’s gruesome injury at the hands of Dwayne Wade in Game 3.

Rondo’s behavior is also why Paul Pierce wasn’t quick to compliment his point guard for his “heroism” after the game.

“(Pierce) opens up about (Rondo’s actions). He talks on and on and on about how hurt, disappointed, betrayed he was by it. They were all counting on Rondo. They were all old. Rondo was the star with young legs. He was the guy that gave them the chance to extend their careers, now it was his turn and he let them down. “People were asking Paul Pierce after the game about Rondo’s heroism and Pierce just shrugs and goes, ‘Hey, you know, it’s just next man up.’ He wouldn’t play along with it at all.”

In the podcast, Thomsen portrayed Kevin Garnett as Rondo’s lone defender in the process. No one else could get past his blowup prior to Game 3.

“Everybody else was down on him that the time because it was just devastating what he had done to them at the worst possible time.”

All this likely had a hand in Rivers’ quote to Thomsen, comparing Rondo to Celtics great and NBA Hall-of-Famer Dennis Johnson, who had an up-and-down relationship with Danny Ainge during his playing days.

“DJ’s (Dennis Johnson) teammates loved him. I don’t know that, that’s true with Rondo. So that’s the difference.”

However, that comment only made Thomsen’s portrayal of Rivers all the more confusing. He site’s Dirk Nowitzki as the book’s “star,” but Rivers as the “hero.” Thomsen explains in the podcast, Rivers, “makes you think of deeper meanings, larger meanings.”

There’s no better example of than Thomsen’s explanation of Rivers’ relationship with Rondo.