illusion or fact

[rollie mass]

it seems like isaiah is not getting knocked to the floor as much, is his all around game  setting him up for less hard contact at rim?-
i am getting worn down with his hitting the deck, imagine how he feels
remember him practicing steve nash moves-he took a beautiful pull up fade away

[Tr1boy]

it seems like isaiah is not getting knocked to the floor as much is his all around game  setting him up for less hard contact at rim?-
i am getting worn down with his hitting the deck, imagine how he feels
remember him practicing steve nash moves-he took a beautiful pull up fade away

IT4 is like a ping pong ball.  Built like a running back

He will be fine

[jambr380]

When it looks like he is taking it hard to the hoop, but then stops and fades from 10 feet away, it is money and way less impact on his body. I am glad to see he is mixing it up; maybe getting blocked so many times a few nights ago made him resort to a secondary move, which I love.

The guy's offense is so dynamic.

[CelticPride2016]

I agree Isaiah looks more durable than ever.

Maybe the difference between before and now is that he has fully entered his prime and is blossoming in historic style. He is more sure of himself when driving to the hoop. More in control of his body. He may only be five foot seven as one of the t.v. guys suggested, but he is definitely built like a tank for a little guy. Muhammad Ali had a rock for a stomach. Punches to his gut did little damage. Maybe Isaiah with those huge arms and shoulders just doesn't get hurt too much falling on them. And as a little guy, he doesn't end up with the problems tall guys get putting too much weight on long legs.

Maybe the big move has been playing him a lot more as shooting guard. That's less energy spent dribbling up the court. It's also enabled Smart to improve on ball handling and distribution which he had to because we are still waiting for Marcus to shoot better. Although his great run at free throw shooting has certainly bumped up his ceiling.

We are built as a system which breaks ceilings. It happened with Jordan Crawford and Evan Turner, and we see it happening with nearly every Celtic, even with great talents such as Thomas.

The fact is that the Celtics as structured facilitate internal growth and development. All the clamoring for trades misses this central point. Look at Jaylen Brown, Smart and Olynyk. They are getting better month to month. So in a way we are making trades all the time without making any. We are always improving, so we are constantly trading out Brown, Smart and Olynyk for improved versions, and we still have 34 more games for such internal development.

[footey]

I do worry that all the hits he absorbs will shorten his career like Iverson.

[Ilikesports17]

He is definitely shooting more jumpers(and knocking them down at a terrific rate)

prior to January he was shooting about 9 free throws and 7 three-pointers a game. In January he shot 10 three-pointers and "just" 7 free throws per game.

[otherdave]

We are built as a system which breaks ceilings. It happened with Jordan Crawford and Evan Turner, and we see it happening with nearly every Celtic, even with great talents such as Thomas.

The fact is that the Celtics as structured facilitate internal growth and development. All the clamoring for trades misses this central point. Look at Jaylen Brown, Smart and Olynyk. They are getting better month to month. So in a way we are making trades all the time without making any. We are always improving, so we are constantly trading out Brown, Smart and Olynyk for improved versions, and we still have 34 more games for such internal development.

This!  This is why we should not give away the farm in a so called "blockbuster" deal.

Draft and develop. Draft and develop.  Minor, minor trades.

[Ilikesports17]

I do worry that all the hits he absorbs will shorten his career like Iverson.

Iverson also admitted that he didnt work out. He also had the practice rant. Isaiah on the other hand is absolutely built and he has talked about how he is already trying to maximize his recovery speed ala Tom Brady. He saw a specialist to help him max his sleep etc.

[csfansince60s]

When it looks like he is taking it hard to the hoop, but then stops and fades from 10 feet away, it is money and way less impact on his body. I am glad to see he is mixing it up; maybe getting blocked so many times a few nights ago made him resort to a secondary move, which I love.

The guy's offense is so dynamic.

I've noticed this more too, especially after he did it in the closing seconds to win some game (I forget which one) in the last week or two.

Just before that game, I was reading an article on comparing NBA players using bio-metrics. One ability where Harden really stands out, the article said, was not in any real athletic metric EXCEPT in his ability  to DECELERATE.

When I talked to Marcus Elliott of P3 Applied Sports Science last month, he was quick to mention the peculiar gifts of the Rockets star. “Harden is barely average in almost every metric we look at related to athleticism, except for deceleration metrics,” Elliott told me. “And in those he’s one of the best athletes we’ve ever measured in any sport — in soccer, football, or basketball.”

Yep. Harden is world-class at slowing down. It’s the reason his drive-and-kicks feel different. He can get into the lane from the top of the arc, but he can also brake quicker than his defender can sense the deceleration. It opens up a bubble, an extra beat that creates space where there wouldn’t have been any had the play been run with anyone else. On the court, Harden’s presence is a two-way mirror: He can see what his opponents see in him, but he keeps his own intentions hidden. That ability to create alternate realities is what makes him great; it’s the skill Mike D’Antoni knew would make him a great point guard.

https://theringer.com/james-hardens-brilliance-is-a-two-way-mirror-b158d1bf2e22#.80gij34sb

IT has that too.

[csfansince60s]

I do worry that all the hits he absorbs will shorten his career like Iverson.

I was thinking that too, but IT has a different body type, thicker than AI, which I think will protect him more.

Plus, AI, especially early in his career was a real high flyer, looking to jam the ball and getting exposed more than IT in the air, because he was higher up.

[fairweatherfan]

it seems like isaiah is not getting knocked to the floor as much is his all around game  setting him up for less hard contact at rim?-
i am getting worn down with his hitting the deck, imagine how he feels
remember him practicing steve nash moves-he took a beautiful pull up fade away

IT4 is like a ping pong ball.  Built like a running back

He will be fine

Running backs aren't known for long careers, and they rarely get hit in midair, let alone routinely by guys far larger than them.

IT's game has a time limit on it, and taking a lot of big hits speeds that timer up. I'm glad he seems to be adjusting to that a little bit, even though that also probably means he's feeling the effects of those hits.

[rochrist]

it seems like isaiah is not getting knocked to the floor as much is his all around game  setting him up for less hard contact at rim?-
i am getting worn down with his hitting the deck, imagine how he feels
remember him practicing steve nash moves-he took a beautiful pull up fade away

IT4 is like a ping pong ball.  Built like a running back

He will be fine

Running backs aren't known for long careers, and they rarely get hit in midair, let alone routinely by guys far larger than them.

IT's game has a time limit on it, and taking a lot of big hits speeds that timer up. I'm glad he seems to be adjusting to that a little bit, even though that also probably means he's feeling the effects of those hits.

Running backs don't get hit by guys far larger than them? You must not follow football much. Typical NFL lineman these days will weigh in around 315. Many of them are 350 or even more (see Wilfork, F and Branch, Alan. RBs don't get hit in midair, but they also don't end up at the bottom of piles of >1000 pound of humanity.

[cousytoheinsohn]

it seems like isaiah is not getting knocked to the floor as much is his all around game  setting him up for less hard contact at rim?-
i am getting worn down with his hitting the deck, imagine how he feels
remember him practicing steve nash moves-he took a beautiful pull up fade away

IT4 is like a ping pong ball.  Built like a running back

He will be fine

Running backs aren't known for long careers, and they rarely get hit in midair, let alone routinely by guys far larger than them.

IT's game has a time limit on it, and taking a lot of big hits speeds that timer up. I'm glad he seems to be adjusting to that a little bit, even though that also probably means he's feeling the effects of those hits.

Stevie Nash endured for a grand, long time and was playing stellar ball virtually until  the end. Isaiah is clearly a student of the game and if he is consciously adopting Nashesque material that's obviously a really good thing in any number of ways including certainly, promoting longevity.

Here's hoping he retires a Celtic, a long time from now.

[greece66]

it seems like isaiah is not getting knocked to the floor as much is his all around game  setting him up for less hard contact at rim?-
i am getting worn down with his hitting the deck, imagine how he feels
remember him practicing steve nash moves-he took a beautiful pull up fade away

IT4 is like a ping pong ball.  Built like a running back

He will be fine

Running backs aren't known for long careers, and they rarely get hit in midair, let alone routinely by guys far larger than them.

IT's game has a time limit on it, and taking a lot of big hits speeds that timer up. I'm glad he seems to be adjusting to that a little bit, even though that also probably means he's feeling the effects of those hits.

Good points. I too would be surprised if all these hits had no cumulative effect on his body.

[fairweatherfan]

it seems like isaiah is not getting knocked to the floor as much is his all around game  setting him up for less hard contact at rim?-
i am getting worn down with his hitting the deck, imagine how he feels
remember him practicing steve nash moves-he took a beautiful pull up fade away

IT4 is like a ping pong ball.  Built like a running back

He will be fine

Running backs aren't known for long careers, and they rarely get hit in midair, let alone routinely by guys far larger than them.

IT's game has a time limit on it, and taking a lot of big hits speeds that timer up. I'm glad he seems to be adjusting to that a little bit, even though that also probably means he's feeling the effects of those hits.

Running backs don't get hit by guys far larger than them? You must not follow football much. Typical NFL lineman these days will weigh in around 315. Many of them are 350 or even more (see Wilfork, F and Branch, Alan. RBs don't get hit in midair, but they also don't end up at the bottom of piles of >1000 pound of humanity.

I meant in the air where we have no way of bracing ourselves. Obviously RBs take a ton of punishment, my point was comparing IT and his game to an RB isn't a great case for his game having longevity.