Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas did not shy away from addressing Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg‘s claims of him being “impossible to guard” because of his routinely discontinued dribble.
“That's not the reason why I'm an impossible cover,” Thomas told ESPN's Chris Forsberg with a smirk on his face.
His two kids, James and Jaiden, laughed shortly after he was done saying so, to which he replied: “It's not that funny,” eliciting laughter from reporters.
Thomas has pulled the Celtics even with the Bulls and regained the team's home court advantage, perseverating through the sudden death of his sister Chyna and rallying through an 0-2 series deficit.
While Thomas struggled through Games 2 and 3, his confidence never wavered, putting up a 33-point bomb on Sunday night to make it a series and show his worth to the franchise.
“Not one man can guard me,” Thomas said after the Celtics' 104-95 Game 4 win. “And that's just the confidence I have, but also my coaching staff and my teammates put me in position to be successful. No matter what other teams are doing, [Coach] Brad [Stevens] figures it out and puts me in the position to be the best player I can be, and my teammates allow me to do that, as well.”
Thomas has missed one of his main weapons this series, going a mere 7-of-28 (25 percent) from deep through four contests, but has found a way to impact the game and get to the line consistently after not attempting a single free throw in Game 3.
The 5-foot-9 point man was a dazzling 12-of-13 from the stripe, rebounding from a very unlikely 7-of-13 night in Game 2 and a nonexistent one the next.
The series now takes a turn back to the TD Garden, where both teams will face each other in a decisive race for a best-of-seven lead on Wednesday night.
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