With the recent Miami Heat debacle, Cedric Maxwell shared a great story of Larry Bird and Pete Maravich arguing during a game as teammates.
Heated arguments between teammates in the public eye are nothing new in the NBA.
While last week's incident involving the Miami Heat with Erik Spoelstra, Jimmy Butler and Udonis Haslem is the latest example, Boston Celtics legend Cedric Maxwell recalled a similar flareup on Early Edition between a pair of his Hall of Fame teammates more than 40 seasons ago.
During the 1979-80 season, the Celtics had an aging Hall of Famer on his last legs, Pete Maravich, as well as a rookie named Larry Bird, who overlapped for just the one season together. In one game, Maxwell recalled, Pistol Pete passed the ball to Bird, who immediately drew a double team as the defender on Maravich switched to Bird.
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That didn't stop Bird from putting up a shot, which he missed, after which a timeout was called.
"Larry, Larry, they're double-teaming you man, you can't force up those kinds of shots," Maxwell recalled Maravich telling Bird.
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"If you were any damn good, they wouldn't be double-teaming me."
Maxwell said he was in shock, but that the teammates later worked it out.
"Guys get into each other's faces all the time on the bench," Maxwell said. "It's not as public as that was, but you'll see that all the time, especially if you're competitive."
The Celtics went on to lose in the Eastern Conference finals in five games to the Philadelphia 76ers that spring. The following season, after Maravich had retired, Boston won its first of three championships with Bird.