Gerald Wallace calls out Celtics teammates for 'padding stats'

After the forward's second game with his new team, he already had some pointed words for the media.

By Ethan Rothstein@ethanrothstein Nov 2, 2013, 1:19pm EDT

The Boston Celtics' first season of their franchise rebuild has gotten off to an 0-2 start. While that in itself is not surprising, the same can't be said about new Celtic Gerald Wallace calling out his brand new teammates for being selfish. From Celtics Hub:

"We got selfish. Instead of worrying about winning the ball game we were more worried about our stats and getting points. It showed. We went from a team that was together and moving and playing together in the first half to a team that was five individuals out on the court, everyone playing for themselves, and it showed on the defensive end," Wallace said.

So why did the it happen?

"I don't have a clue. You gotta ask everybody in here. I don't have a clue. I really don't understand it. I'm trying to figure out what's more important, winning or padding your stats. This was a game we were supposed to win easily, without even the starters playing in the fourth quarter. Instead, we got selfish as a team. We didn't move the ball, we let the ball stick instead of pushing the ball, and their second unit came in and they handled us, and we didn't really know what to do."

Wallace was traded to the Celtics as part of the Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett swap, and the Celtics are expected to be one of the league's worst teams, at least while Rajon Rondo recovers from a torn ACL.

While a member of last year's underwhelming Brooklyn Nets team, Wallace was an offensive black hole and yet consistently called out his teammates for a lack of effort. So this kind of outburst is nothing new. Jeff Green joined in Wallace's refrain, so it's not just the forward speaking on his own. Still, it's just two games into the season, and this act could wear thin soon.