Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are still at odds with Udonis Haslem, saying, “If I See Y’all In The Grocery Store It’s On.”
An ex-Miami Heat player expresses his hatred for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
Nearly ten years have passed since Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and the Boston Celtics faced off against Udonis Haslem and the Miami Heat. Nevertheless, Haslem still harbors little affection for his former competitors, even in the wake of his league retirement. In an interview with “The OGs Show,” Haslem expressed his distaste for the former Celtics players and even threatened to throw hands if he ever saw them in person again.
“I don’t f*ck with KG and Paul, those old motherfu**ers. I like Tatum and Brown. It’s on if I see you guys at the supermarket. Whatever aisle, I don’t care,” Haslem declared. “Everything gets flipped over around the cheese dip, like it’s a 7/11.”
Haslem waged multiple postseason wars against Boston over his 20 years with the Miami Heat. The Heat beat the Celtics and its two stars on several times in way to their championship run with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, but it appears that their animosity extends far beyond their on-court rivalry. Boston had a rather contentious reputation back then and earned a good number of opponents, in part because of their aggressive play style and fiery trash language.
The Celtics of the mid-to late 2000s were not very popular among their contemporaries, despite the fact that you could not argue against their play on the court. It seems that Paul and KG had a history of saying some fairly strange things on the court and using strategies that the opposition found unfavorable. Later, Richard Jefferson, a former NBA veteran, went on to refer to Pierce and Garnett as the “worst human beings of all time” and label them as bullies within the NBA.
Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett led the Celtics to prominence for several years, but they were only able to share one championship victory. It was presumably Boston’s own arrogance and conceit that drove LeBron James to Miami and established the Heat as an Eastern Conference dynasty, after so many years of putting up with their fiercest rivals. Given the background involved, there are still some strong feelings on both sides, and they might never go away.
For the majority of modern basketball history, the Heat have been right on par with the Boston Celtics, who have long been the NBA’s most successful team. LeBron James lost against the Celtics twice in the Semifinals from 2008 to 2010, and it took him several years to overcome their big three. But James would eventually exact revenge on Boston in Miami, where he would lead Miami to victories in 2011 and 2012.
Fast forward to today, and we can see signs that things are changing in the East. With a new regime in Boston, led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, it’s the Celtics who have the NBA in a chokehold right now and experts across the country are anticipating a long playoff run… unless the Heat steal the show again just like they did last year in the Eastern Conference Finals
As we fast-forward to the present, we can observe indications that the East is experiencing change. The NBA is currently in the hands of the Boston Celtics, led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and analysts across are predicting a lengthy postseason run—that is, unless the Heat steal the show once more, as they did in the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
