The 1980s have been over for a long time, but apparently the hard feelings between Danny Ainge and Pat Riley are still going strong.
Riley, the Miami Heat president, responded Friday to comments from Ainge, his Boston Celtics counterpart, that LeBron James’ complaints of hard fouls were “embarrassing.”
“He needs to shut the [expletive] up and manage his own team,” Riley said in a statement. “He was the biggest whinter going when he was playing. I know that because I coached against him.”
Riley coached the Lakers from 1981-1990 and Ainge was a Celtics player from 1981-1989 during an intense rivalry between the two franchises. Ainge said Friday after Riley’s statement, “I would say we’re both right. LeBron should stop complaining and I should manage my own team.”
James started it after the Bulls snapped Miami’s 27-game winning streak. He complained of fouls that he deemed to be too hard.
“Those are not basketball plays,” James said. “And it’s been happening all year, and I’ve been able to keep my cool and tell [coach Erik Spoelstra], ‘Let’s not worry about it too much.’ But it’s getting to me a little bit, because every time I try to defend myself, I’ve got to face the consequences of a flagrant for me or a technical foul or whatever the case may be.”
About those comments, Ainge said “I think it’s almost embarrassing that LeBron would complain about officiating.”
“I’m not surprised to hear anything from Boston,” James said in response.
Right now, the Heat are atop the Eastern Conference standings and the Celtics are seventh. If Boston falls into eighth – the Bucks are there currently – they would meet Miami in the first round.