Tristan Thompson Calls Out Boston, Toronto And Philadelphia
Tristan Thompson: “We’re still 4-time Eastern Conference champions, so until you take us down from that, teams ain’t got much to say. Boston, Philly, they ain’t got much to say. Boston had homecourt Game 7 and lost. Philly, you guys almost got swept. Toronto – we know that story” pic.twitter.com/gnGqd4mGeM
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) September 27, 2018
Tristan Thompson asked if the Cavs have enough “winning muscle memory.”
He proceeded to point to the Eastern Conference championship banners in the Cavs facility. “Enough winning muscle memory? Right there. 1, 2, 3, 4”
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) September 27, 2018
I’ll never knock a professional athlete for publicly expressing confidence in themselves or their teammates. Whether a team is the odds on favorite or a massive underdog, without a belief in their own abilities, there’s no possible way they could win anything. I feel like most of the time these quotes are taken out of context or misconstrued as a shot at another player.
However, in this case, this is not a player sharing his high level of confidence with the media. Tristan clearly calls out Boston, Philly and Toronto. The last thing anybody on the Cavs should be doing right now is feeding any team in the East anything that could be used as motivation against them. Especially, when those comments are coming from Tristan.
Clearly, with LeBron leaving, the Cavs are no longer the leading team in the Eastern Conference. If he wanted to say he still believes the Cavs are the best team, I’d understand it. Every player on every team says that. Nothing positive can come from calling out the other teams though. In fact, the smartest thing would be to play the underdog card.
The Cavs are rebuilding their identity without LeBron. Now, they will have a target on their backs as they try to figure out the future of the franchise. I’m sure the Celtics, Raptors and Sixers already felt disrespected after being dominated by LeBron for years. This season is their chance to seek revenge on the Cavs. I don’t see how one of those teams could overlook the Cavs now after hearing Tristan call them out.
????? @RealTristan13 Cut it out. Get that vacation ready early this year fam! Ain’t shit going through the Cavs this year! #facts
— Marcus Morris (@MookMorris2) September 27, 2018
