Vince Carter, being the nice guy he is, had naturally never offended Pierce.
It was a one-sided animosity on Pierce's part.
He was still unsatisfied with his draft position to this day and harbored resentment against all those who were picked before him.
The ones he resented the most were undoubtedly Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter.
Because those two guys also played forward and could score as well, the media loved to compare the three of them.
Carter jokingly responded to Pierce, "Hey, I don't want to mess with anyone from the Hawks. Everybody saw what happened to Kobe Bryant. You know, Kobe is my brother, so I really feel for him."
Carter said the softest words but started the game with the most explosive dunk.
When Carter asked for the ball in the low post in the first play, Doug Christie immediately passed it to him.
