Earlier this week, former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce made some waves on social media when he inferred that a lineup made up of Kevin Garnett, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart and himself would be nearly unbeatable in the league.
In a development that likely won’t shock a single member of the Cleveland Cavaliers faithful, Pierce used the ensuing debate as an opportunity to seemingly go after Cavs legend LeBron James.
Pierce began the saga innocently enough. It appeared that he was just remarking on the level of talent that existed on the later Celtics rosters of his career as well as the talent on the team’s current roster.
View this post on Instagram
But as is the norm on social media, the comments section of the post became a proverbial battlefield of opinions and beliefs. One such belief had to do with the idea that James himself essentially killed the Celtics’ Big 3 made up of Pierce, Garnett and Ray Allen.
While that may be true, one fan pointed out that the trio played a role in ending James’ first tenure with the Cavs. Pierce was quick to promote that message.
It’s hard to argue against the idea that the Celtics helped put a close to James’ first stint with the Cavs. After all, the Celtics defeated the Cavs in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals in a six-game series.
With that in mind, Cavs fans will be the first to admit that the team that was built around James at the time was nowhere near talented enough to really give the four-time MVP much of a chance. On that Cavs roster, the second-leading scorer in the series behind James was a 37-year-old Shaquille O’Neal who put up 13.5 points per game.
While Pierce and the Celtics may have won that round, James certainly had the last laugh when it came to his rivalry with the team. Many of James’ playoff highlights during his years with the Miami Heat came against the Celtics.
The Heat beat the Celtics in the 2011 NBA Playoffs, winning their series 4-1. James then essentially ripped the Celtics Big 3’s heart out in the following season, coming back from a 3-2 deficit in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals to win the series in seven games.
James had what many consider to be one of the greatest playoff performances in NBA history in a must-win Game 6 in that series.
All in all, both Pierce and James got their own personal wins in their professional rivalry. Based on each player’s respective resumes, however, it’s not hard to figure out who came out on top.
