Below is my latest post on my blog and outlines how tonight could be the night that moves Isaiah into the mainstream superstar that his years of hard work and struggle have led to-enjoy
Isaiah Thomas’ struggles to reach the NBA pinnacle are well documented; you normally hear the words “last pick of the draft” associated with his name if you listen long enough or have read any recent article outlining his meteoric rise.
His journey to NBA stardom wasn’t a traditional one. Isaiah was run out of Sacramento who drafted him with the 60th pick in 2011, because Demarcus Cousins was allegedly not happy with the shots that Isaiah was taking away from him. In 2014 The Kings decided to move on and handed the point guard keys over to Darren Collison by letting Thomas’ contract expire and not offering him a new deal.
In his new “home” in Phoenix he lasted 46 games, as a result of a risky 3 point guard experiment with Dragic and Bledsoe didn’t yield the results that ex-Celtic front office executive Ryan Mc Donough wanted. He cut his losses with the Frankenstein roster construction and traded Thomas to his former employers for Marcus Thornton and a protected first round pick.
This three point guard roster was an odd experiment, which was always likely to fail. There is still only one basketball allowed on the court at any one time and these three point guards all needed the ball in their hands to be effective, not to mention that playing all three during crunch time would likely result in defensive mismatches. Mc Donough later traded doubled down on the failed experiment, trading Dragic to Miami for expiring contracts and draft picks.
But if you think that once Isaiah landed at Logan airport, it was all rainbows, leprechauns, and pots of gold, think again. Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens always get recognized as geniuses to a degree that they undoubtedly deserve, however, initially (at least) they both saw Thomas as a microwave scorer off the bench, similar to the role that he’d had in Phoenix.
Over time Thomas increased the trust of his coach increasing his minutes from 26 in his debut season with the Celtics off the bench to 33 mpg as a starter the following season. Isaiah’s numbers have also improved every year with the Celtics, 19 PPG in 2014-15 to 22PPG the following season, to the scoring explosion to almost 29 pts per game this year. The scoring surge is a testament to his improved shot and work ethic as well as the Celtic’s acquisition of Al Horford, which opened up the driving lanes where Isaiah is so deadly as a finisher at the rim.
Thomas was destined to finish as runner up in the scoring race this year until James Harden pipped him to that spot with a 39 pt explosion against Denver on the last day of the season.
Despite the well chronicled struggles early on in Isaiah’s NBA career, and having the odds stacked against a 5 foot 8 inch (at best) NBA player, what Isaiah Thomas has faced since the playoffs began has been the biggest challenge of his life. Losing his sister on the eve of his first playoff game this season to a horrific car accident and then losing three teeth in the first game against the Wizards in the following round and dealing with the subsequent hours of surgery needed to fit a temporary bridge.
Nothing has come easy for Thomas in his career, and these playoffs have taken it’s toll on his psyche as much as any of the enormous hurdles that he has had to conquer from his journey as the 60th pick of the draft to a two-time All Star.
There was something Shakespearean and ironic about Isaiah as he took the podium following a game 6 loss to the Wizards, when he was asked about Game 7 against the Wizards tonight at the TD Garden he said, “Game 7 is where legends are born”. This comment was steeped in irony, as he was wearing black which was supposed to symbolize the death of the Wizards while, talking about the genesis of his own stardom as a Celtics legend.
Shakesperean or not, ironic or not, he will be hoping to join the upper echelon of Celtics greats tonight and elevate his own place on the team’s legendary totem pole.
He will be hoping that by doing this, he will be setting up a date with destiny in the next round for which the symbolism would be downright biblical. A story as old as time-David versus Goliath.
Topic: IT4- Tonight could be the night he arrives as a superstar. (Read 4165 times)