A Twitter battle between a star player and a media member is laying the groundwork for a playoff series that may or may not happen.
Only in the NBA.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons fired the first shot at Dwyane Wade on Wednesday, suggesting the Miami Heat star may not-so-accidentally injure a Boston Celtics player if the two teams meet in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Simmons was referencing a Celtics-Heat playoff game in 2011, in which Boston point guard Rajon Rondo dislocated his elbow after getting tangled up with Wade.
It was somewhat of a throwaway line, but Wade apparently noticed Simmons’ jab — and fired right back at the die-hard C’s fan.
There’s a good chance Wade is joking here, but Simmons still is taking precautionary measures.
If the season ended Wednesday, the No. 7 seed Heat would, in fact, play the No. 2 seed Celtics in Round 1, (kind of) pitting Wade against Simmons. But that’s just one of many possibilities: The Milwaukee Bucks only trail Miami by a half-game, while the No. 6 seed Philadelphia 76ers are just two games in front of the Heat with 10-plus games remaining in the regular season.
