Haslem responds to Garnett and Pierce’s recent Heat criticism: ‘I don’t like them either’
Kevin Garnett hasn’t played in an NBA game since 2016 and Paul Pierce hasn’t played in an NBA game since 2017, but their feud with the Miami Heat continues even in retirement.
The rivalry was sparked again when the pair of former Boston Celtics stars said last week on their Showtime show, Ticket & The Truth, that the Heat’s championship window is closing after its slow start to the season.
“What’s Miami’s identity?” Garnett said on the show. “That’s the first thing I ask myself. They used to be known as a defensive team that can score the ball. Now, they done turned into a three-point shooting team with a bunch of ball movement. I’m trying to still figure out who they are, though. They don’t really have no identity.”
Pierce added: “I think with them, they gotta do it collectively, and I just ain’t seeing it right now. Like Bam [Adebayo], we thought he was gonna turn into a perennial All-Star, and he’s kind of been up and down. The only consistency they got is probably Tyler Herro.
“Obviously [Boston] Celtics, I think Brooklyn [Nets] is better, Philly [76ers]. Even though Philly getting off to a slow start, I think they better than them, and so, it’s just, it’s over. Their window is closing.”
Heat veteran Udonis Haslem, who was part of Miami’s playoff battles against Garnett, Pierce and Boston a decade ago, couldn’t help but respond to their comments.
“No matter what you say, it won’t change that [butt] whooping y’all took back in the day!!!,” Haslem wrote on Instagram during the weekend, referring to the Heat eliminating Garnett and Pierce during their time with the Celtics in the 2011 and 2012 playoffs and again after they joined the Brooklyn Nets in the 2014 playoffs. “I know a lot about windows closing cause we slammed y’all [expletive] and locked y’all suckas out forever ever!!! #L7 #sixgamesinyallalreadyhating”
Haslem, 42, did not back off those words when asked after Monday’s practice about his social media response to Garnett and Pierce.
“It’s just how I feel,” Haslem said ahead of the Heat’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night at FTX Arena. “That’s how I feel. I just feel like every time I turn around, those guys got something to say about us even going back to last year.
“I think Paul was very critical of us last year. It’s like, why? For what? Critical of Bam, critical of Jimmy [seven] games in when there’s a lot of teams that’s struggling right now and haven’t hit their stride. Not just us. I feel like it was a bit much and I feel like it goes back. But I can feel it, I can dig it because I don’t like them either. So I can understand why they probably don’t like us and they don’t like me because I don’t like them either, and that’s OK. I don’t have to like everybody. I was taught that as a kid. Be respectful, but you don’t got to like everybody.”
All the while, Haslem emphasized that it’s still too early to make a definitive judgment on the Heat this season.
“It’s early. It’s [seven] games in,” Haslem continued. “There are a lot of teams struggling to hit their stride right now. So to make that comment on us, I just feel like it goes back to the rivalry and the history of us, which I understand because we don’t like y’all either.”
ALL ABOUT THE DEFENSE
The Heat entered Tuesday with the NBA’s seventh-worst offensive rating, but Adebayo still believes getting back on track begins and ends with improved defensive play.
“We put enough points on the board. It’s not that,” Adebayo said Monday. “I think it’s more so us defensively giving up 120, 115. That’s what I got a problem with. For us offensively, I think we get enough offense.”
For a Heat team that has finished with a top-10 defensive rating in six of the past seven seasons, it’s not surprising that the focus is on that end of the court. The Heat entered Tuesday ranked 18th among the NBA’s 30 teams with a defensive rating of 112.5 points allowed per 100 possessions.
“Even when we’re doing it well, don’t we still talk about that?” coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about the Heat’s knack for attributing wins and losses to its defense. “Our defense is not where we want it to be right now and we’re working at it. We have some areas that we really have to clean up, particularly in transition. If we can clean that up and be more consistent on the glass, then I would have a little bit better of an indication of where we actually are in terms of our half-court defense. Certainly there are areas in there that we have to clean up, too. But those other two areas have been a little bit more damaging.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Spoelstra, who is in his 15th season as the Heat’s head coach, turned 52 on Tuesday.
▪ With blood clot issues forcing Chris Bosh to end his NBA playing career early, the Heat waived him at the end of the 2016-17 season with $52.1 million remaining on his contract. He was paid that balance in 120, twice-monthly installments of $434,393 starting on Nov. 15, 2017.
Bosh was scheduled to receive the 120th and final installment of that payment plan on Tuesday.
▪ The Heat is expected to have 13 players available for Tuesday’s game against the Warriors. Jamal Cain (G League assignment), Victor Oladipo (left knee tendinosis) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle impingement) are the three Heat players who have been ruled out for the contest.
This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 10:00 AM.
