I grew up in the 1980s.

Saw the Sixers-Celtics rivalry, the Lakers-Celtics rivalry and the Pistons-Bulls rivalry.

Doc choked Bird. McHale took down Rambis. Bad Boys put the Jordan Rules on M.J.

Saw the New York Knicks when they dueled with the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers in the ’90s.

Zo  and Grandmama went at it. John Starks head butted Reggie Miller.

Those were battles. Tough. Physical. Intense. The essence of playoff basketball.

What’s going on between the Heat and Pacers in this year’s Eastern Conference semifinals isn’t at that level. In fact, it’s reach a point of bush league.

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Here’s another one.

Solomon Alabi played 22 games for the Erie BayHawks last season when they were affiliated with the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The 7-footer averaged just 7.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks for Erie as a rookie last season. Someone that tall should dominate the D-League. So if anyone needs development, it’s him.

Now he’s back in the D-League as the Raptors sent him down to the Bakersfield Jam today. Erie is now an hybrid partner with the New York Knicks.

At least the weather will be better for him in Bakersfield. It’s 25 degrees in Erie, 57 in Bakersfield.

When Alabi played with fire and emotion as you will see below when he dunks on Miami Heat young big man Dexter Pittman, who was with Sioux Falls at the time, he was effective, but he has a laid back personality.

Plus he couldn’t stay out of foul trouble. He averaged 3.27 fouls a game.

Still raw, 7-footer Solomon Alabi still needs work.

He’ll be back, I think.

The Toronto Raptors recalled 7-foot-1 rookie center Solomon Alabi today after his second stint with the Erie BayHawks.

I’d bet he’ll return to the team for a third and final run later this season. NBA team can send their first and second-year players up to three times a season.

In the four games he played on his second stint, Alabi averaged 9.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. His second run was successful at times, strange in others.

The good: Alabi had a career-high 20 points and 11 rebounds against Maine on Jan. 9. Really showed moves around the basket and was aggressive.

The bad: In his three other games in his second stint with Erie against Sioux Falls, Idaho and Rio Grande Valley, Alabi totaled 18 points and 15 rebounds.

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In beginning his second stint in the D-League, Miami Heat rookie center Dexter Pittman scored 15 points in the Sioux Falls Skyforce's 97-91 loss at Erie against the BayHawks on Friday night.

“YOU PLAY FOR THE HEAT?”

“YOU PLAY FOR THE HEAT?”

Yes, Ivan, Dexter Pittman is a rookie center with the Miami Heat.

While Pittman was on the bench for the Sioux Falls Skyforce on Friday night at Tullio Arena, Erie BayHawks power forward Ivan Johnson was barking at him while waiting for one of his teammates to attempt a free throw.

Pittman said stuff like that happened to him during his first run with the Skyforce this season.

“I expect it,” he said. “When you come down to this level, you’ve got a big target on your back. It’s nothing.”

Pittman is where Johnson wants to be – the NBA.  So Johnson was taking this game even more personal since he was matched up against the 6-foot, 11-inch, 300-plus pound rookie out of Texas.

“That just shows me that I can play in the league (NBA),” Johnson said. “Playing against dudes like him. I’m not saying he’s a trash player, but I can hang with some of the best of them.”

They went at each other in Erie’s 97-91 win. Johnson had a game-high 25 points and five rebounds while Pittman had 15 points and just three boards.

It was fun to watch.

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Former BayHawk Maureece Rice will make his Sioux Falls' debut against his former team Friday night at Tullio Arena.

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2-12) at Erie BayHawks (11-6)

Friday, 7 p.m., Tullio Arena.
▀  On the air: WFNN-AM 1330; www.nba.com/dleague/

Players to watch
▀  Erie — PF Ivan Johnson (Leads team in scoring at 17.1 points a game. Johnson is the only player on the team to start every game the BayHawks have played this season. … C Solomon Alabi (A rookie with the Toronto Raptors, Alabi is making his second trip to the D-League. In his first run with the BayHawks, Alabi averaged 8.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and three blocks in seven starts. … SG Blake Ahearn (Had a season-high 16 points in his third game with Erie after being reacquired by them. He averaged 25.7 points in 13 games with the BayHawks last season).

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