Tristan Thompson was interviewed after Celtics practice on Friday before their Game 3 matchup that evening against the Nets. On playing with Kyrie Irving and his growth, Thompson said “I think right now for Kyrie, with us, he was our point guard…him and Bron would kind of exchange roles…with them having James, Kyrie can go be more aggressive offensively at the two position… his load is not as much where he can be very more efficient offensively…it’s worked out great for them…we gotta prepare for that tonight, for him to be extra aggressive.”
On his past experiences in Boston and vocal fans, Thompson said “Yeah of course, definitely… I think that’s what makes Boston fans special, not the racism part, but that they’re very into the game…they want to be the sixth man on the court…I’ve definitely heard guys say some crazy stuff…at the end of the day, my experience personally being a Celtic, no one’s said anything racial to me…as a visitor it’s a different story…it just comes from their home training, their lack of home training.”
Jayson Tatum has been getting banged up this series, as the Nets and Kevin Durant have gotten away with a lot of contact. Thompson elaborated on what the team needs to do to push back against that kind of play. “I think tonight especially the first five minutes… first five minutes throw the first punch… that’s crucial, especially tonight,” said Thompson. “After Game 2, them beating the shit out of us…we gotta bring some life…especially with them bumping and shoving our star player…you gotta make them feel you.”
Thompson asked how many fans would be in attendance at TD Garden tonight. “So with the 5,000 we got, we need them to be loud…but for us, we just got to bring the intensity…got to approach this game like it’s win or go home…tonight, it just takes one win to change the whole series.”
On if the league and teams need to take the issue of racism from fans more seriously, Thompson said “There's certain cities that you can expect some racial slurs…they know that they’re far enough where we can’t do nothing to them…there’s always a fine line when it becomes too much…when you start using racial slurs or start talking about someone’s kids… you saw in Philly and Utah, and even New York, the fans crossing that line…should probably also be a fine, a criminal fine…dare a motherfucker to spit on me.”
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