Fans inside the TD Garden on Sunday gave Isaiah Thomas a rousing ovation and also offered a minute of silence for the death of her sister, Chyna, in a car crash. The Boston Celtics point guard was seen very emotional and even cried before the game started.
It has been recently reported that he may fly home to Seattle to be with his family during her funeral. That makes his status for the second game of their series against the Chicago Bulls unknown, and his availability will remain unclear until close to tip off.
Stevens says Thomas may go to Seattle for the funeral, so his status for Game 2 is not known. #Celtics
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) April 17, 2017
Head coach Brad Stevens confirmed the development and also added that they are giving him all help that he needs and will be excused from team activities to mourn the loss of his sibling.
“Whatever he needs to do, he needs to do. We'll help him in any way. If he needs to and wants to stay here, we'll be here surrounding him. If he wants to go to Seattle, then he should go to Seattle. It's his call and it should be.”
Despite the C's losing game one, 106-102, and needing Thomas' leadership more than ever, they understand his situation and allowed him to go home in this very difficult time. It is a very classy gesture, which also goes to show that they are indeed a world class organization and treats all their employees, including players, as family.
Game two is scheduled on Tuesday night, and it can be expected that the team will play with a lot more focus and will try to apply the adjustments Stevens and his staff will run in their practice sessions. Should Thomas be available to play, it will definitely be a huge boost for the Celtics, as they avoid traveling to Chicago down 0-2.
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