Celtics' Crowder still not over Randy Wittman's trash talk
During Monday night's game between the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards, a lot of trash talk flew through the air. Isaiah Thomas and John Wall spent most of the game chirping at one another, but it was all in good fun. Those two are friends and they talk to keep the competitive juices flowing (per the Boston Herald).
“Me and John are good,” Thomas said with a smile. “We’ve been knowing each other since AAU days. We’re friends. We just like to talk a little trash to each other. It gets us both going.” Wall has the same point of view. “Oh, yeah, me and him, we have no problem at all,” said the Wizards guard. “When I was trying to become one of the best players in the country, he was already known. I had an opportunity to play him, and we’ve been friends since then. And when we’re on the court, it’s all competitive trash talk between us. There’s nothing serious, so I have no problem with him. “It’s fun to go against him. He’s always been a tough competitor and a tough matchup to play against because he’s so small and quick and he has a lot of heart for somebody his size.”
But Wizards head coach Randy Wittman and Celtics forward Jae Crowder are decidedly not friends.
And after last week's encounter, Crowder still isn't over all that went down.
On the other hand, Crowder remains upset with what Wittman said to him when the teams were lining up for a free throw in the final minute on Jan. 16. “I appealed my technical, but the league office hasn’t gotten back to me about that yet,” Crowder said. His approach to a game against the Wizards is, thus, a bit different than that of his teammate Thomas. “I’m a competitor. I like to win games,” said Crowder. “I’m not on the court to make friends. If I’m not friends with you before I play you, I’m not going to become friends with you when we play. I just want to go out and win games, and I just take it how it is.”
Oh well, Boston had the last laugh by spanking Wittman's team once again by a sizable margin. It's probably not the smartest thing in the world for him to talk down at another team's player, especially one who can use it as extra motivation on the court.
Add this saga to the long list of reasons why Wittman won't be back in Washington next season.