The rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat is so deep that even former players are getting into it.
With under a minute to go in Boston's Game 1, 114-94, win over Miami on Sunday afternoon, Heat forward Caleb Martin collided with Celtics star Jayson Tatum.
That resulted in a hard fall, and although Tatum got up quickly and moved on after the play, some of his teammates weren't in a forgiving mood.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla and a few other players realized that clashes like that happen, especially in the NBA Playoffs. However, former Celtic and current media personality Brian Scalabrine had a different view on the matter.
Following Boston's wire-to-wire victory, Scalabrine argued that Martin's loose ball foul wasn't an accident. He then went as far as saying that Martin should potentially be suspended, via NBC Sports Boston's postgame broadcast.
“Erik Spoelstra called a timeout with a 1:30 down by 16, 30 seconds later that play happens … that looked shady to me … That to me is a dirty play … I think Martin should get suspended for that.”
The “White Mamba,” who won a championship with the Celtics in 2008, ended up clarifying his comments on the Dan Le Batard Show on Monday morning.
“Listen, I don't have a problem with the play,” he admitted. “I just thought the play was bush league. In the sense that he ran into it, took advantage of it, he braced himself, he ran into Jayson Tatum while he was in the air … Also, remember I'm not jaded by all this. When Jaylen Brown did that thing to Duncan Robinson I thought that was bush league too.”
When Scalabrine says “that thing,” he's referencing when Celtics star Jaylen Brown got involved in a dust-up with Heat sharp-shooter Duncan Robinson during a regular season game in February.
That explanation wasn't good enough for Udonis Haslem, who spent his entire 20-year NBA career with the Heat.
“Shut yo sucka a** up!! He got pushed,” Haslem commented on Instagram. “Brian Weak a**!!”
Given the Heat lifer's lengthy history with the Celtics, this response isn't a surprise. Miami and Boston have met in the playoffs seven different times, and Haslem was a part of the Heat for six of them. The only outlier is this year, as the 43-year-old officially retired last season.
Udonis Haslem's distaste for the Celtics is nothing new
Even though his playing days are finished, Haslem has rekindled the beef between the Celtics and Heat whenever possible.
Last December, the Florida native shared an example of his hatred for the Green Team that shocked the NBA world. During the late Bill Russell's jersey retirement ceremony, Haslem complained about having to honor a Celtics player in the Heat's stadium, via The OGs Show.
“I love Bill. No disrespect to Bill … Why the f*** he got to hang in here? The s*** that comes out the people's mouths to us when we are playing [at the TD Garden]? I might not take back what I said, now that I think about it.”
A month later, Haslem showed some respect to the basketball and human rights champion, via playmaker.
“Let me talk on this one time. First, as a black man, I understand what Bill Russell has done for us aside from basketball,” he acknowledged. “What he’s done as a black man just for us to move forward in life … If I apologize to anybody, it’d be to Bill Russell’s family.”
He didn't provide the same peace offering to Celtics fans or the city of Boston:
“The Boston people? Y’all got a better chance of wrestling an alligator,” he joked. “I’m not apologizing to you motherf***ers for nothing.”
Clearly, the bad blood between the Celtics and Heat is legitimate. Yet, this rivalry is best suited for the court.
Game 2 of the first-round playoff series tips off in Beantown on Wednesday at 7 P.M. ET.
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