Udonis Haslem responds to Jayson Tatum’s shot at Miami
Jayson Tatum couldn’t turn down the opportunity to troll the Miami Heat before the Boston Celtics’ championship parade on Friday. Predictably, his comment didn’t sit well with longtime Heat big man Udonis Haslem.
After defeating the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals on Monday, Tatum and the C’s celebrated their NBA title in Miami, where they’ve spent plenty of time over the last three years. Boston and Miami faced off in three consecutive postseason series with the Celtics winning two of them, including this year’s first-round meeting.
NBC Sports Boston’s Brian Scalabrine asked Tatum about going to Miami and the team’s history there, and the C’s superstar simply couldn’t resist.
“You guys have been on a lot of trips to Miami,” Scalabrine said. “A lot of hard-fought trips to Miami. Was this one a little sweeter taking that trip down?”
“They always easy,” Tatum answered.
Haslem, who played for the Heat from 2003-23 and currently serves as the team’s vice president of basketball development, responded to Tatum’s jab on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
“I think he’s still drunk from the party,” Haslem said. “He’s gotta still be tipsy from the party, there’s no way he could believe that. It’s OK, that’s what he’s supposed to say. Congratulations to the Boston Celtics. I ain’t gonna be no hater, we understand they’re the champs. We’re going to get fully healthy, then we’ll see what happens.”
Tatum is 8-4 in Miami in his playoff career, including a Game 7 Eastern Conference Finals victory in 2022 and a 2-0 record in the 2024 first round. The Celtics are 7-1 in their last eight road playoff games vs. the Heat.
Still, Haslem believes Miami will be the biggest threat to Boston in the Eastern Conference next season. He made the argument later in the day on ESPN’s First Take.
“I’m tired of this,” he said. “Duncan Robinson, Terry Rozier, Jimmy Butler, a young superstar in Bam Adebayo, a young superstar in Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., (Nikola) Jovic. Why don’t nobody ever say the Miami Heat? The last four or five years, it’s come down to the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics. Milwaukee snuck themselves in there, but it’s come down to the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics. And we’ve got La Spoelstra Nostra (coach Erik Spoelstra).
“So I’m sitting here asking, why don’t nobody ever say the Miami Heat? A healthy Miami Heat is the team that can challenge Boston, because we’ve done it the last four out of five years. I’m sick of this, man. This gotta stop. The Heat hate gotta stop.”
https://twitter.com/FirstTake?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1804164825141923848%7Ctwgr%5Efa4fa8d925acb0770ad5c6202affaf4f2d2a9ee3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsportsboston.com%2Fnba%2Fboston-celtics%2Fudonis-haslem-responds-to-jayson-tatums-shot-at-miami%2F623798%2F%3Fpartner%3Dyahoo
https://x.com/FirstTake/following
Miami’s success next season could hinge on Jimmy Butler, who has recently been the subject of trade rumors. Haslem seems convinced Butler isn’t going anywhere.
“No, we do know we’re going to have our best player,” he added when Butler’s uncertain future was mentioned. “You ain’t heard us say he’s going nowhere, we just hear ya’ll saying he going somewhere. Ain’t none of us saying he’s going somewhere.”
Butler missed the entire first-round series vs. Boston due to an MCL injury. In 2023, he propelled the Heat to victory over the C’s in the Eastern Conference Finals.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see these storied rivals match up again in next year’s postseason. If they do, you can count on Tatum’s pre-parade taunt being used as bulletin board material.
News
LeBron James faces backlash for ‘snapping’ at young fan after Olympics win, what’s going on
LeBron James has received backlash after he pointed in the face of a young kid who was asking for a picture following Team USA’s basketball Olympic gold medal LeBron James has been slammed for his interaction with a young fan (Image:…
Dave Portnoy banking on Caitlin Clark to win him $10m from ambitious wager
Barstool Sports CEO Dave Portnoy once again places a massive wager, picking Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever to win the WNBA title this October. Dave Portnoy has consistenly backed Caitlin Clark during her rookie year (Image: Getty Images) Barstool’s Dave Portnoy has launched…
Taylor Swift Blocks Kanye West From No. 1 Debut as ‘Tortured Poets’ Tops ‘Vultures 2’
Taylor Swift’s ‘TTPD’ scores a 14th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with Kanye West’s ‘Vultures 2’ coming in at No. 2 Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department has earned its 14th week at No. 1 on the Billboard…
Shocking News: Just as Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Romance Heats Up, Donna Kelce Revealed that Travis and Ex-Girlfriend Kayla Nicole are Expecting
In a surprising turn of events, the blossoming romance between pop superstar Taylor Swift and NFL player Travis Kelce has taken a dramatic twist. Just as the couple’s relationship appears to be heating up, it has been confirmed that Kelce…
Steph Curry ‘night night’ celebration explained as USA hero delivers iconic Olympics image
Stephen Curry produced an iconic moment in the final seconds of Team USA’s gold medal victory over France, draining a deep 3-pointer before celebrating with his signature ‘night night’ move Steph Curry performed his good night celebration as Team USA…
PHOTOS: Brittney Griner’s Wife Absolutely Stunned In Her Private “Dump” At The Paris Olympics
Cherelle Griner had the time of her life at the Paris Olympics as she cheered on her wife. Cherelle Griner (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) Two years after serving time in Russian custody, Brittney Griner won her third Olympic medal as she helped…
End of content
No more pages to load