After the Celtics took Game 4, thanks in large part to a brilliant stretch in the third quarter by Isaiah Thomas, who finished with 33 points in that matchup, Fred Hoiberg voiced his frustration during the postgame press conference, going on a mini rant about Thomas' dribbling technique, which he viewed as illegal.
Hoiberg said that the refs allowed Thomas to carry the ball on "every possession," which made him "impossible" to guard.
Wednesday night, during Game 5, Thomas wasn't quite as impossible to guard as he was in Game 4, as he shot just 6-of-17 from the field. But still, the topic understandably came up following the game.
During the press conference, Hoiberg was asked if he saw Thomas carrying the ball during the game, and, well, he wanted no part of that question, quickly rising and walking out.
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg quickly bails from podium when asked whether Celtics' Isaiah Thomas carried the ball during Game 5... pic.twitter.com/M1IYVrVRkK
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 27, 2017
This is a tough one.
On the one hand, it seemed like this reporter was baiting Hoiberg a bit, trying to get him to say something potentially controversial about the topic.
On the other hand, however, Hoiberg was the one who initiated this discussion with his complaint the other day, and you can't make accusatory statements like that about an All-Star and not expect to be asked about them.
