The Celtics lost last night to the Pelicans 116-113 in overtime. That was a big deal for a lot of people, even though they are 34-11 and still lead the East by 3.5 games. For me though, I couldn’t get over the tweet Isaiah Thomas sent out about his tribute video—and I still can’t.
Isaiah Thomas: Petty or Classy
Last night Isaiah Thomas sent out a tweet asking the Celtics not to run his tribute video on February 11th. He said he appreciated the honor of sharing that night with Paul Pierce, but knew it was becoming an issue. I felt like this tweet was a small jab at Pierce because he complained about it right off the bat. But many other people had things to say about sharing the night. When talking to the media yesterday, Rondo had this to say about the tribute video in general: “What has he done? This is the Boston Celtics… you don’t hang conference titles” (NBC Sports). Now, that’s cold. But I will say this: Isaiah, you had your chance for a tribute video on January 3rd. YOU turned it down because you already had a plan in your mind of how you wanted it to go down. You knew you were coming to Boston that night, so you had ample time to plan accordingly.
#34 Shouldn’t Have to Share
When this all initially went down, people said Pierce was being a baby about it. Ummm… NO! He wasn’t being a baby or selfish or whatever else people were saying. Pierce gave fifteen years to the Boston Celtics, bringing them to the Finals twice and winning one. Did I mention he was also the Finals MVP? We watched him grow into an elite player in Boston. He helped carry our team to the playoffs ten out of the fifteen seasons he was a Celtic. His loyalty for us was unreal. So any Boston fan who watched Pierce for those fifteen years and called him a baby for not wanting to share HIS night should be ashamed. Isaiah Thomas came here for three years and you all just forgot what Pierce accomplished while in Boston? No disrespect to Isaiah but… I’m going to have to go with #34 on this one.
“But I Thought You Had Love for I.T.”
Yes, I did write an open letter to Isaiah Thomas earlier this month. I still respect him and everything he did in his three years as a Boston Celtic. But let’s be real, he’s been acting petty since his trade. I know it was an emotional shock, but he could have handled it with a bit more grace. And like I said above, he had his chance for a tribute video, but he wanted to be petty about that as well. He should have pushed his debut to January 3rd against us and flew his family out if it was such a big deal. And I know he had that day circled on his calendar so there’s no defense.
So, lesson here guys: we don’t always get second chances!