Dennis Schröder clearly hasn’t gotten over his beef with Isaiah Thomas.
The two point guards will meet Monday night at TD Garden when the Boston Celtics host the Atlanta Hawks. The last time Boston played Atlanta back in January, the Hawks guard accused Thomas of bringing Schröder’s mother into some on-court trash talk.
The Celtics guard denied ever doing so, but when Schröder was asked about the incident Monday morning, he reiterated that Thomas crossed the line.
“Everybody heard it,” Schröder told reporters, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “My family sat courtside, too. Thabo (Sefolosha) heard some things. He wasn’t involved in it. It is what it is. We just try to compete. It gets heated in the game.”
Apparently both players have drawn their lines in the sand. Here’s what Thomas had to say about his history with Schröder after Sunday night’s win over the Detroit Pistons, via the AJC:
“Man, I’m past that, I’m not worried about that. Once he tried to damage my character, saying I talked about his parents or whatever. I’m past that. Not even worried about it.”
The Thomas-Schröder feud goes beyond just that one incident, though. Thomas received a technical foul for smacking Schröder in Game 3 of last season’s Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup, and the two had to be separated amid an on-court scuffle. Schröder apparently still is irked about that, too.
“What he did in the playoffs last year was just not professional,” Schröder said Monday. “I think nobody wants to see that. But it’s fine. We just try to compete and help our team win the basketball game.”
Needless to say, the officials will have a close eye on these two foes Monday night.
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
