And if you haven't got the foggiest idea of what that means, then you're absolutely not alone.
The morning after the Miami Heat lost to the Celtics for the second time this year, falling to an underwhelming 5-4 to start the first season with their new big three, it was a guy from outside that triumvirate of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh who lashed out. It was Haslem, who addressed the media at practice Friday and sounded none too pleased with the trash-talking Celtics captain.
"Paul who?" Haslem asked, according to Michael Wallace of ESPN's Heat Index. "Man, ain't nobody paying them dudes no attention, man. You know what studio gangster is? Look up that, look up the definition of studio gangster."
There are six varying definitions for the phrase "studio gangster" found on Urban Dictionary, including the following, which appears to be most relevant:
"Fake G's that pretend to be from the streets by rapping about it."
Haslem's words can be loosely translated to this:
"Paul Pierce thinks he's tough. He's not. He talks a bigger game than he plays."
Pierce was on Twitter in the wee hours of the morning Friday after the Celtics' 112-107 win in Miami, and he wasn't shy about how he felt in the wake of the big victory.
"It's been a pleasure to bring my talents to south beach," he wrote. "now on to Memphis."
Pierce's account has 196 tweets as the C's star only writes something once every few days. He doesn't have much to say, so when he does speak out, followers tend to listen. And when he goes public with his feelings about a big emotional win in enemy territory, it's bound to spark some controversy.
Remember, a similar fiasco unfolded six months ago with Pierce. The captain's Twitter account was the center of some serious public scrutiny after Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals last May, when @paulpierce34 tweeted "Anybody got a BROOM?"
A dumbfounded Dwight Howard was asked at the postgame podium to comment on it. Suddenly, Twitter was the main focus — not basketball. Pierce claimed his account was hacked (as NBA players are so often fond of doing). This time, Pierce doesn't seem to be shying away.
Haslem's right, on some level, about Pierce being a "studio gangster." He is talking an awful lot about a win in the ninth game of the season, on Nov. 11. At this point, talking trash doesn't do much good — the Celtics are still many months away from achieving their ultimate goal and this victory means very little in the grand scheme of things.
The most important part of Pierce's tweet was that four-word snippet at the end: "now on to Memphis."
The Celtics can't bask in the glory of one win. They've got to move onto the next one. Rather than play a post-Miami letdown game and lose an winnable road tilt, like the C's did two weeks ago in Cleveland, they've got to stay focused.
