Isaiah sits for no one

Guard rages on rest

Isaiah Thomas, proud almost to a fault of his tenacious career, is particularly stubborn about his desire to play every possible minute of every game.

So it was galling to the Celtics guard to read — on Twitter, naturally — that he had been included in the NBA’s percolating rest controversy, lumped in with LeBron James, the Spurs and every Golden State star not named Kevin Durant.

“Every time somebody sits out now, somebody thinks it’s for rest, and I’m not one of those guys,” the Celtics guard, clearly feeling caught in the crossfire, said last week. “Not to put anything against those guys, but I’m not one of those guys. I don’t ever want to rest.”

The issue stemmed from the Celtics’ decision to leave Thomas behind for treatment on a bruised right knee during a road trip through Brooklyn and Philadelphia last weekend. Noam Laden, the father of a devoted 13-year-old Thomas fan named Gabe, went on Twitter the day before the Nets game to express disappointment.

“My son waited all season to see his fav @Isaiah_ Thomas take on @BrooklynNets — made posters. Ripped them up after hearing he’ll be a no show.”

The tweet was accompanied by the picture of a hand drawn “Isaiah MVP” sign torn in half. Gabe, upon discovering that Thomas wouldn’t be at the Brooklyn game, ripped up a collection of signs he had made.

Laden was admittedly surprised when he woke up the next morning to a flurry of retaliatory tweets from Thomas, including the following: “@ gee_hoag @NoamLaden tell your child the truth in why his ‘fav’ player wont be playing. His ‘fav’ player is back in Boston getting treatment.”

The other tweeter mentioned in Thomas’ salvo especially set off the Celtics guard with the observational response that, “This is a legit issue for this league.”

Thomas returned to action with 25 points in a win over Washington on Monday night at the Garden, and was still bothered by the perception this toxic Twitter exchange created.

“That guy didn’t understand what it was — he was coming at me like I was taking a rest, like I was one of those guys who rest — and

‘Every time somebody sits out now, somebody thinks it’s for rest, and I’m not one of those guys. . . . I don’t ever want to rest.’ — ISAIAH THOMAS, after missing a pair of games last week

I was kind of upset at it because he tweeted me numerous times, like trying to call me out,” said Thomas. “I’m not a guy who is going to take a rest. I had to stay back here to get treatment because I was not able to play, and if it was a playoff game, we would have figured out some way to play.”

Laden, who is news director and morning news anchor/ host on WABC’s “Imus in the Morning,” brought up the issue on his show, received numerous call-ins from people on both sides of the issue, including a substantial number of Celtics fans who lined up behind Thomas.

Laden told the Herald that he never meant to call Thomas a “no show,” at least not in the context that phrase usually conveys.

But no one was angrier with Laden than his son.

“When I showed all of (Thomas’) responses to my son, he was really mad at me,” said Laden. “He told me, ‘If I ever meet him now, he’s going to know you’re my dad.’ It was a good lesson for me to know you have to be careful about what you tweet.”

Thomas, told of Gabe Laden’s reaction, said, “Well, he should be mad at his dad.”

But when asked about Gabe’s disappointment, Thomas offered an apology and told a story about his own young brush with being let down by a pro athlete.

“I mean, I apologize to that kid, because I was once one of those kids,” he said. “I remember once when the Seattle Sonics played the Sacramento Kings, and I went to see Jason Williams. He couldn’t play because he had a migraine.”

The experience stuck well enough that when Thomas was drafted by Sacramento, he just had to know.

“Once I got drafted to the Kings, I asked the trainer — and he said yes, he really had migraines and he couldn’t play when he had it,” he said. “So I understand that. But what I was telling him was, just tell your kid why I’m not there. Don’t act like I’m not showing up because I’m resting. That’s what made me upset.”

But Thomas hasn’t lost a fan, according to Laden.

“I finally had to say, ‘ Oh, give up, Noam,’ ” he said. “But my kid was fine. Would he have loved to see Isaiah? Sure. He’s still a big Isaiah and Celtics fan. His room is done up in Celtics gear.”

Laden does have a lingering issue, though, and it’s connected to the alarm NBA commissioner Adam Silver has sounded over the impact on fans, their hardearned money, and resting superstars.

“One part I was upset about was that the Nets were still sending out alerts with Isaiah’s name in it promoting the game on Friday,” said Laden.

Just don’t blame me, says Thomas.

“I couldn’t have been myself if I had played in those games, and I can’t be out on the court if I can’t be myself.”