Doc Rivers wants his players to "hate" the Heat


Here's one of the money quotes from Doc Rivers recent interview with Bob Ryan.
Honestly, I don't care about the Lakers...I have my eye squarely on Miami. I come up to my players during the year-they're in the facility now-I bring up Miami every single day to them. I want them to hate them. I want them to beat them. That's gotta be our focus.

Hate is a pretty strong word, and I know opposing players are often friends off the court, but Doc is trying to hammer home a point with this. Celtics/Heat games are going to be epic battles this season. Celtics players don't need extra motivation to get up for these games. They'll be amped regardless. But we're not looking just to take the Heat to 7 games this season. We need to beat them. We've improved, but so have they. It might come down to who wants it more and who's willing to run through the walls to do it. In life, it's not good to hate or be vengeful, but in sports it can sometimes provide the extra fuel to topple your adversary.

So what are your thoughts on the Heat? Do you not pay them any mind, dislike them, or hate them?