Boston's Smart tries to downplay battle with Butler
BOSTON - Jimmy Butler was booed early and often by Celtics fans on Wednesday. That's partly due to Butler's status as the best player on the opposing team, but also his comments about Boston's Marcus Smart after Game 4.
Butler and Smart had a minor staredown in the second quarter of Sunday's game. Both received technicals and when asked about the incident, Butler said Smart acts tough, among other things.
Smart responded after the Celtics practiced on Tuesday, but didn't push the issue.
"I laugh at that. This is about Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls, not Marcus Smart vs. Jimmy," Smart said, according to The Boston Herald. "I ain't gotta sit here and say this and that, I'm this, I'm that. I ain't that type of guy. My actions speak harder than words."
Smart was asked what he thought about Butler's new catch phrase, "he's not about that life."
"I ain't gotta talk about what I am about. I could show you, but I'm not going to tell you," Smart said. "So, like I said, it ain't hard to find me."
Stevens knows other Isaiah:
Celtics coach Brad Stevens was asked how he prepared his team to face Bulls point guard Isaiah Canaan, since he barely played after the first week of December. It turns out, Stevens knows Canaan well.
"He torched a team I coached in 2010 when he was 18 years old, so I know all about it," Stevens said.
He was talking about a second-round NCAA tournament game. Stevens was coaching Butler and Canaan, a freshman for No. 13-seed Murray State, scored 14 points while hitting all 4 of his 3-point attempts. Butler did win the game 54-52.
Canaan also scored 18 points in Boston on opening night of the 2015-16 season when he played fro Philadelphia.
"I think ultimately when he became active the other day, we threw that into the pregame edit right away, because it made sense," Stevens said. "Our guys know what he can do."
Payne stays in thoughts:
Bulls guard Cameron Payne was inactive for the second straight game, but coach Fred Hoiberg made a point of sending praise in Payne's direction.
"We actually have thought about (playing him)," Hoiberg said. "He's been really good playing the role of Isaiah Thomas (in practice). He's shown flashes of what he can maybe become as a player. He's a guy that can get in the paint, get downhill. He's got good size and length; he's got a nice floater in the paint. So he is somebody we have thought about."
Bulls horns:
It turned out the NBA did not fine Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg for his comments after Game 4 about Boston's Isaiah Thomas getting away with carrying the ball. Hoiberg never mentioned referees, which is probably why he didn't get the standard fine for critical remarks about officiating. Hoiberg declined to comment on the subject before Wednesday's game. … Jimmy Butler won the NBA Community Assist Award for April. Both Butler and Dwyane Wade were nominated for the season-long award.