Is the little guy a top 20 player in the NBA

[SHAQATTACK]

He and Crowder turned the Celtics around no doubt.

[greece66]

Top offensive player, but his size limits his  defensive potential.

I've been thinking about the whole "his size really hurts him on the defensive end" argument, and I'm not putting that much credence into it.  It's not like opposing point guards are going in and posting him up all game every game.  As a matter of fact, it's kind of rare.  Good point guards beat him the same way they beat all the other point guards in the league; off the dribble.  I don't see how that makes him any more of a liability than most other guys at his position.

He made some fairly nice plays defensively against Cory Joseph tonight.

His OBPM for this season is 5.2 and his DBPM is -2.0

Last season the difference was even greater (6.4, -3.9)

Offensive winshare is 6.8 and DWS is 2.4 (a huge improvement by comparison to the rest of his career).

IMO the effort and the bball IQ is there, but he always has to play  against bigger opponents and this shows in the stats. He is not a bad defender, but he is into the conversation for a top 20 player in spite of not thanks to his D.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thomais02.html

[mmmmm]

Top offensive player, but his size limits his  defensive potential.

I've been thinking about the whole "his size really hurts him on the defensive end" argument, and I'm not putting that much credence into it.  It's not like opposing point guards are going in and posting him up all game every game.  As a matter of fact, it's kind of rare.  Good point guards beat him the same way they beat all the other point guards in the league; off the dribble.  I don't see how that makes him any more of a liability than most other guys at his position.

He made some fairly nice plays defensively against Cory Joseph tonight.

His OBPM for this season is 5.2 and his DBPM is -2.0

Last season the difference was even greater (6.4, -3.9)

Offensive winshare is 6.8 and DWS is 2.4 (a huge improvement by comparison to the rest of his career).

IMO the effort and the bball IQ is there, but he always has to play  against bigger opponents and this shows in the stats. He is not a bad defender, but he is into the conversation for a top 20 player in spite of not thanks to his D.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thomais02.html

Thomas will always be zinged by DBPM because of the defensive rebounding and BLK components of that stat.   Being a low scorer on DBPM doesn't really equate to being a "defensive liability".

What ultimately matters when it comes to defense is the scoreboard.  With Isaiah on the floor, the Celtics have surrendered 105.2 points per 100 possessions.  That's definitely a small let down from the  4th-ranked 103.3 DRtg of the team overall, and of course the super-stingy 100.1 without him on the floor.  But it still would tie for the 11th ranked team DRtg in the association.  That's pretty good.

And very tolerable, considering that while Isaiah is on the floor, the team boasts a 111.0 ORtg (which would be 3rd best in the NBA).  Even more tolerable when you realize our offense drops to an inept 99.7 without Isaiah on the floor (which would be 29th in the NBA -  Yikes!).

[Celtics18]

Top offensive player, but his size limits his  defensive potential.

I've been thinking about the whole "his size really hurts him on the defensive end" argument, and I'm not putting that much credence into it.  It's not like opposing point guards are going in and posting him up all game every game.  As a matter of fact, it's kind of rare.  Good point guards beat him the same way they beat all the other point guards in the league; off the dribble.  I don't see how that makes him any more of a liability than most other guys at his position.

He made some fairly nice plays defensively against Cory Joseph tonight.

His OBPM for this season is 5.2 and his DBPM is -2.0

Last season the difference was even greater (6.4, -3.9)

Offensive winshare is 6.8 and DWS is 2.4 (a huge improvement by comparison to the rest of his career).

IMO the effort and the bball IQ is there, but he always has to play  against bigger opponents and this shows in the stats. He is not a bad defender, but he is into the conversation for a top 20 player in spite of not thanks to his D.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thomais02.html

Fair enough.

[PAOBoston]

If we are basing this off overall talent/impact/potential, I don't think he cracks the top 20-25. BUT...If we are basing it just on this year's statistical performance, I think there is a legit argument to make for him towards the back end of the 15-20 range. He's been one of the best players from start to finish this season in the NBA, has the numbers to prove it, and was deservedly an All Star. The C's are lucky to have him.

[SHAQATTACK]

He is the best we got right now .