Beef in the league lasts longer than players' careers especially when they're playing for rival teams. This has been the case between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. The two franchises still continue to have heated battles on the court and when there's no basketball being played, they lampoon each other. Paul Pierce and Pat Riley's former player, Udonis Haslem, have one of these types of squabbles.
The two reignited their spat just over a month ago. Paul Pierce questioned why Udonis Haslem's jersey was retired on the Heat rafters and they started exchanging statements. The Celtics legend then went on to address comments about his beef with Haslem on The Dan LeBatard Show.
“First of all, I’m trying to remember when he told me that because I never remembered hearing that. Second of all when we played Miami, when Udonis Haslem was out there, I don’t remember no hard screens, no hard fouls, no s— talking,” Pierce said.
Long-standing Celtics-Heat rivalry
The Heat and Celtics first met each other during the prime of these two players. Dwyane Wade and Haslem were not strong enough to withstand the green storm. They lost the series after five games. Since then, Pat Riley and the Heat have won three postseason best-of-sevens while the Celtics have two under their belt.
Pierce does not think that stuff that happened within their career is a factor in their current beef. Instead, he posits that this could be something different.
“Now that we’re in retirement, trying to get our podcast off, I’m starting to hear this hate you know. That’s cool I know I rub people the wrong way, I never liked Miami I respected them but it is what it is you know. I’d rather do it in a telephone booth, if you need more room in a grocery store that’s cool too,” he declared.
Haslem has always felt some sort of annoyance against the Celtics. He blasted the whole league for having to retire Bill Russell's jersey in their rafters when the legend passed. Moreover, his aggressiveness comes out when talking about the 17-time NBA Champions. Beef can be ingrained into personalities which makes them stick even after careers have passed.
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