Dejounte Murray is looking to get the Atlanta Hawks out of a 2-0 series deficit in the opening round of the NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics.
While that’s a massive undertaking, the Hawks star guard received some advice from a former Celtics fan favorite in trying to help Murray accomplish that task following Atlanta’s Game 2 defeat.
Former Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas reached out to Murray — they both are Washington natives — with some encouraging words and guidance on how to play against a clearly superior Celtics squad.
“He text me last night,” Murray told reporters Thursday, per CLNS Media video. “That’s somebody, great person. Hard worker. Should be in the NBA. But he texted me last night with little pinpoints of some encouraged words to help me be better, help my team. That’s about it. But that’s our relationship.”
Many of the players Thomas suited up with over his tenure with the Celtics are long gone, but three still remain with the team. Thomas played with both Marcus Smart and Al Horford with Boston while Jaylen Brown’s rookie campaign during the 2016-17 season coincided with Thomas’ last year with the Celtics.
While Thomas appreciated his time in Boston, he could possibly be giving their current opponent inside tips on how to either defend or attack Smart, Horford or Brown. Or maybe Thomas knows a way to get under the skin of Smart, whose temper is known to boil over at times on the floor.
Even if Thomas was just trying to motivate Murray, the Hawks are certainly overmatched against the Celtics and can use all the help they can get.
