The Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics have put up some memorable matchups in the past. The two teams have undergone a few NBA playoffs matchups while LeBron James has faced the Celtics more in the postseason than he would probably like. However, the rivalry possibly took a hit after Boston opted to trade away key members like head coach Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Dwyane Wade is confident the rivalry will continue, but with the Brooklyn Nets.
Pierce, Garnett and Jason Terry are now part of the Brooklyn Nets, a team the Heat will face a few times during the season. Many would think the rivalry with the Celtics would now run dry. The Heat are clearly the stronger team of the two as Boston enters a rebuilding phase. Wade believes the trade will help the rivalry transition to Brooklyn. Wade told reporters that the Heat's "bad blood" with the Celtics will transfer well to the Nets.
Brooklyn and Miami have never had a rivalry. The Heat have always been in a class of their own. That is expected to change this season as Brooklyn loaded plenty of fire power to their roster. The two teams will meet up for the first time on Nov. 1 at the Barclays Center. Fans can expect those games to really start to heat up.
Pierce has already done a good job in transitioning to the Nets and expects new rivalries to grow. The veteran played a large part in Brooklyn's preseason win over Boston on Tuesday night. Brooklyn took the win 82-80 as Pierce faced off against his former team for the first time.
"I'm still trying to find my niche here," Pierce said, via ESPN.com. "I know I have the ability to score the ball, so it's nice to get [rebounds and assists] when my shot's not going to fall. I try to do other little things. We have so many great scorers as a team, and I'm just trying to show that I can do other teams to help this ball club win."
Head coach Jason Kidd complimented Pierce on the way he handled his first reunion with Boston, something that will happen again this season. When the Heat and Nets face off for the first time, Pierce and Garnett will see former Boston Big 3 member Ray Allen in another jersey, something likely to add a little fuel to the growing rivalry.
