Larry Bird Calls Out Indiana Pacers for Being ‘Soft’

Larry Bird has done this before. He called his Boston Celtics teammates “sissies” following a humiliating loss to the Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals, and Bird publicly called out the Pacers last night after losing the physical battle (and game) to the Miami Heat. Per the Indy Star: “Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird doesn’t do a lot of interviews. He prefers to stay in the background and let his players get the attention. But when Bird talks, you listen. That was the case about two hours after the Pacers suffered the worst playoff loss in franchise history – 115-83 – in Game 5 against the Miami Heat.  ‘I can’t believe my team went soft,’ Bird said on the phone. ‘S-O-F-T. I’m disappointed. I never thought it would happen.’ When asked to elaborate on those comments, an obviously frustrated Bird said, ‘That’s all I have to say.’ Those are the strongest words I’ve ever heard Bird say about his team – good or bad – in my seven-plus years of covering the Pacers.”