Fansided

Isaiah Thomas calls out Celtics for Robert Williams injury strategy

By Aryanna Prasad

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 09: Isaiah Thomas #4 of the Charlotte Hornets looks on in the first quarter during their game against the Boston Celtics at Spectrum Center on March 09, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 09: Isaiah Thomas #4 of the Charlotte Hornets looks on in the first quarter during their game against the Boston Celtics at Spectrum Center on March 09, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /
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Former Boston Celtics player Isaiah Thomas called out the Celts for urging Robert Williams III to play through injury during the NBA Finals. 

Celtics fans still miss Isaiah Thomas, but Thomas is confident that the Celts want nothing to do with him.

Aside from the fact that they could have called him up on a 10-day contract this January, Thomas was spurned by the Celtics when the team instructed him to play through a hip injury, then traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers while he was still rehabbing his injury.

So when the Celtics reportedly asked Robert Williams III to play through a knee injury, the advice sounded a little familiar to Thomas.

While fans consider the difference in injury and situation, Thomas did suffer his season-ending hip injury during the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals series against the Cavaliers. However, Thomas was instructed to sit out, while Williams is being encouraged to play through the injury.

Isaiah Thomas wary of Celtics advice to make Robert Williams III play through injury

At some point during Game 4, Williams reaggravated a persistent knee injury, which has sidelined Williams intermittently over the past few months.

Both Williams and Celtics coach Ime Udoka are unsure when the injury took place, but Celtics fans are hopeful that Williams will return to aid a Celtics defense that gave up a critical Game 5.

“He didn’t do a specific thing. He doesn’t know when it happened. He sprinted up and down one time on one possession and he felt something. That’s why he asked to come out,” Udoka said. “We watched the film and nothing stood out. It led to the blow-by with (Steph) Curry. He couldn’t move great on that possession.”

Just as Williams has been a crucial component for the Celtics, so was Thomas — at least, that’s what he believed until he was traded in exchange for Kyrie Irving.

Thomas was a fourth-quarter closer that Boston fans dearly miss, a premonition of what would be needed during the 2022 NBA Finals series.

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