Doc Rivers is still trying mend fences among Ray Allen and 2008 Celtics

Ray Allen is set to be inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend in Springfield and odds are he won't be getting congratulated by a few of his old teammates. That reality bothers Doc Rivers. 

The former Celtics head coach was back in Boston on Tuesday night for the annual ABCD Hoop Dreams fundraiser that he runs with Brad Stevens at the TD Garden. While Rivers' return to the area always brings back fond memories, he couldn't help but lament the situation that his former team is dealing with.

"As years have gone on, things have been fractured, and I hate it. I hate seeing it," Rivers said of the relationship between the 2008 Celtics. "I would love this (to be a) celebration for Ray. Not a lot to say here about it. Ray won us a title. He really did."

"I think he should be celebrated. I think he should be celebrated in Boston. He's responsible for that banner. If I had one wish, I wish I could do a better job of getting that group back together. I can get a lot of them back together; I just can't get the whole group. They really should be because they were so close, and it really hurts me to see what's going on."

Allen has continually taken shots at several of his former teammates and coaches in recent weeks, including Rivers, for how things ended in Boston in 2012. Paul Pierce appeared to mend fences with Allen last year during a promotional trip in China, but Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett remain at odds with Allen nearly six years after the ugly divorce. 

"I've tried, I can tell you that," Rivers said of his attempts to patch things up between all sides. "It's a lot of little things. Here's the thing: You have two Hall of Fame guys as far as their competitiveness. The reason that Ray was who he is, Rondo was who he is, Kevin, Paul -- I think Paul has done the right thing as far as throwing out the olive branch. [But] it's also why we were really good is why they don't get along: very stubborn, very tough, very competitive and no one wants to give in.

"The phrase I used to use a thousand times in arguments with the team: 'It's about getting it right, not who is right.' I hope we can get that right because they are all probably right in whatever they are saying in some way or form, but they need to get it right and get together."

Despite all the drama that has boiled up over the past couple of years, Rivers can't help but think positively upon the defining group of his nine years of coaching in Boston.

"That team, the 2008 group, was as close of a group as you could ever coach," Rivers said. "Everyone bought into their roles. It wasn't a perfect group all the time. We had our arguments and our differences, and that's fine.

"On the floor, I'd take that group every night to go to war. If I had one game to win for my life, I'm taking that 2008 group and we're going to go to war, because you know they were going to show up and do it together."

BSJ Analysis: This entire situation has gotten a little bit tiresome at this point, but given the personalities involved, it's not going away anytime soon. The wounds are still fresh after Allen's latest book came out and the more he keeps talking about it during interviews, the harder it will be to mend fences here.

The benefit of time and age should help the healing process here (think 10-20 years) but in the meantime, this will be an unfortunate blemish that keeps coming up anytime this team is discussed.