After Spat, Isaiah Thomas Doesn't Like "Fake Tough Guy" Jerryd Bayless

After spat, Isaiah Thomas says he doesn't like Boston Celtics guard Jerryd Bayless, a former AAU teammate: 'He's a fake tough guy'
Print Jay King, MassLive.com By Jay King, MassLive.com
on February 07, 2014 at 11:23 PM



Boston Celtics point guard Jerryd Bayless (11) reacts after falling to the court on a 3-point attempt as he tangles with Sacramento Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas (22) during the second half of an NBA basketball game on Friday, Feb. 7, 2014 in Boston. A scuffle ensued and both Bayless and Thomas were assessed technical fouls.
AP Photo/Mary Schwalm



BOSTON – Asked about a brief fourth-quarter scuffle with Sacramento Kings guard Isaiah Thomas, Jerryd Bayless seemed to suspect his opponent had already badmouthed him through the media.

“Did he say something else over there or something?” the Boston Celtics guard asked Friday night at TD Garden after scoring 19 points during a 99-89 win.

At the time, Thomas hadn’t spoken to the press yet. But a few minutes later, he showed that Bayless’ suspicions were warranted.

“I don’t like him,” Thomas said. “He’s a fake tough guy.”

The Kings guard added that Bayless knows why the two have bad blood.

They had to be separated by teammates after a brief spat with 5:11 remaining, which resulted in double technical fouls. After Bayless fell to the floor upon getting fouled, Thomas backpedaled into him, apparently accidentally. But he stood over the Celtics guard for an extra moment, prompting Bayless to shove him away.

By then, Bayless had already drilled two 3-pointers during a 14-0 fourth-quarter run that broke the game wide open. DeMarcus Cousins and Jared Sullinger entered the mix to play peacemakers, and the whole situation amounted to more huffing and puffing than actual conflict.

“Ironically, we played AAU together,” Bayless explained. “We were on the same AAU team together. It’s stupid, but it happens.”

Thomas had 24 points, but only three during the fourth quarter. To make the story better, it was his birthday.

(Apologies for the video below, but it's all I could find.)





bob



.

Not sure why Bayless got a T.

The guy fouled him and then stood over him while he tried to get up.

My thinking, exactly, Mrkleen. The way Thomas backpedaled into him, if it were a court case, Bayless could easily plead self-defense. I won't be shocked if Bayless' tech is rescinded. He was the tauntee, not the taunter.

I've always intensely disliked NBA players named Asaiah Thomas anyway. Why should that stop now?

Sam

It's interesting that it was Cousins who helped Bayless up and pushed Thomas away.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/08/kings-isaiah-thomas-calls-celtics-jerryd-bayless-a-fake-tough-guy-after-on-court-incident-video/#comments

Outside wrote:It's interesting that it was Cousins who helped Bayless up and pushed Thomas away.

I was thinking the same thing.

Could be the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Like Father, like son. Always had a mouth.

Rosalie

There not related.
swish

Get out!  Well, see what happens when you do not know what you are talking about!!!    Fooled me!

Are you sure he just didn't tell his wife he had a son?  HaHa

Well, they should be related! They share the same endearing qualities. If either of them ever needs a tooth implant, I hope it would be sweet justice if the implant were shaped like a big fist!

Sam

Rosalie

Don't feel bad. I wouldn't be surprised if half the basketball world assumed that they were father and son. See parental history below.

'Isaiah Thomas was named after former Detroit Pistons All-Star point guard Isiah Thomas when his father, James, bet his friend that his favorite team, the Los Angeles Lakers, would defeat the Pistons in the 1989 NBA Finals (which the Pistons won in a surprising four-game sweep). Even though the younger Thomas ended up being born months before the Finals took place, James had already warmed to the name. However, the boy's mother, Tina Baldtrip, insisted on spelling it 'Isaiah', as she desired a biblical name.[12][13] Because of his namesake's unpopularity among New York Knicks fans after unsuccessfully serving as head coach and team executive, the fans boo Isaiah Thomas whenever he plays in Madison Square Garden.[14]"

References[edit

swish

sam wrote:Well,  they should be related!  They share the same endearing qualities.  If either of them ever needs a tooth implant, I hope it would be sweet justice if the implant were shaped like a big fist!

Why the animus toward the Kings' Thomas? Is there some other history here with him that I'm not aware of? It can't be this incident alone, which barely qualifies as a blip on the radar.

Actually, in my case, it's this game alone—not just this incident alone. He carried himself with what I see as the same kind of supercilious smirk of his namesake. I put a lot of stock in body language to the extent of featuring it in a course I taught on understanding and dealing with interviewing subjects. So, while I understand others might not share my perspective, in this case it's the reason I have such a strong one.

Sam

Sam,

It seems like such a minor offense, and one that numerous Celtics have committed and that many Celtic fans would celebrate when a Boston player did it. What would your reaction be if the game didn't involve Boston or if the roles were reversed and Bayless was the one standing over Thomas?

Outside,

I don't do hypotheticals. But I'm not at all afraid to criticize Celtics players if it's warranted. I hope I've displayed that capacity consistently on this board. And body language is body language, no?

Sam

Sam,

Yes, it is, but I've seen Pierce, KG, and Perk (to name a few) do this and much worse many times. I realize that no two incidents are identical, but do you agree with that?

Outside,

Agree with what? That Pierce, KG and Perk have done this and much worse many times? I don't keep score of such things—in terms of either frequency or intensity.

Whenever I have felt Pierce, KG or Perk—or any other Celtic—has been in the wrong, especially in matters of attitude or behavior, I've been quite outspoken in issuing critiques, sometimes to the displeasure of my fellow posters. I could easily name illustrative examples involving each of those three players (beginning with the Pierce towel on the press table incident, Perk's missing games because of incessant problems with referees, KG's making Glen Davis cry).

I actually hold Celtics to what I believe is a very high standard of professionalism. I've typically used the term "un-Celticlike" in such instances because I like to think that the Celtics culture involves adhering to a fairly professional standard. Why would I hold opposing players to anything less?

You may think Thomas' actions and comments weren't unprofessional (only the double negative worked—sorry about that‚. I thought they were unprofessional, and I called him on it. I don't want to appear too moralistic, but kids ape the actions of people in public life—especially athletes.

I have a nephew who became an avid baseball fan and persisted of spitting every five or ten seconds. Anywhere and any time! It got to where you wouldn't want to walk in his back year because you'd risk doing an unintended sputum slide. In his case, he was following what was/is common practice among pro ballplayers. But it can be just as influential when a single athlete is the instigator.

So critiquing is precisely what I've done in this episode with Thomas.

Sam

Sam,

Fair enough. I thought your reaction to Thomas in this case was unusually strong, and I didn't remember you having nearly as strong a reaction to Celtic players doing similar things, but that's likely just the fault of my recollections.

I do think Thomas's actions and comments were unprofessional, and I put the majority of the blame on him, though I think Bayless was wrong for physically escalating the situation with the shove despite the fact that Thomas is the instigator and provoked him.

I wasn't arguing that Thomas wasn't wrong, because I think he was. My argument was doubting that a Celtic acting similarly would be judged similarly. I'll also argue that this one incident is fairly innocuous on the scale of poor behavior and doesn't make Thomas deserving of being equated with a long-time Celtic nemesis from the "bad boy" Pistons, regardless of the similarity of their names.

Outside, I believe I saw more in Thomas' demeanor than was reflected in just this incident. Perhaps time will tell if my observations had merit.

As for Bayless' response, on one hand, I think it's usually foolish to react to that sort of thing because (1) it can escalate an otherwise innocuous situation and (2) it's so often the responder that gets the brunt of the discipline. But, I guess if some guy were standing over me and obviously taunting me, I'd probably take some action. In my case, it would probably be something like biting him in the kneecap.

If I had thought Bayless was the instigator, I wouldn't have been reluctant to take him to task as I've done with many Celtics over the years (as witness my comments regarding Pierce, KG and Perk). I do believe that, over time, the Celtics have exhibited a more exemplary record of steady, non-popoff demeanor than other teams. And I'm never happy about exceptions.

For example, one thing I didn't like so much about Larry Bird was his tendency to be more overtly cocky than I felt was justified. Stuff like "Moses Malone eats s_it" and bragging before the long-ball all-star contest didn't sit well with me. If I really thought a lot about it, I could dredge up many more examples of my concerns about Celtics. Perhaps one reason you don't think I'm as vociferous about Celtics' misdeeds as those of players on other teams is that most of my concerns about given Celtics episode are dispersed over longer times than momentary flareups involving other teams' players.

There's no question that I probably cut people I like more slack than people I don't really know because, in my eyes, one reason I like them is that they've built up a pretty positive resume—or I wouldn't like them. I don't know of anyone who is so purely objective as to give a relative stranger as much of a "pass" as someone who has established positive credentials over the test of time.

On the other hand, it's possible that my single most rewarding aspect of years of posting on a Celtics message board is having become good friends of people with whom I got off to a bad start. And I like to think the reason that has happened a number of times is because I'm receptive to seeing positive things in them despite our disagreements. In fact, one of my favorite things in the world is making friends with strangers, which is why I consider my wife's and my jobs at the local Chamber of Commerce to be pure gifts.

Sam