Defending Isaiah Thomas and the Boston Celtics
By Keith Parish
Isaiah Thomas is in the midst of a prolonged scoring binge that recently netted him Eastern Conference Player of the Month. He has raised his average to 29.9 points per game for the season, and he is scoring 13.7 points in fourth quarters alone (as much as, say, Rodney Hood or Dwight Howard average for an entire game) over his last 15 games. Fans celebrate his offensive explosion as the catalyst for a Boston Celtics team that has risen to second in the Eastern Conference by going 16-5 since Christmas.
However, critics are right to point out Thomas’ staggeringly poor defensive numbers (dead last in DRPM) and that the Celtics have played 15 of those 21 games since Christmas at home. So how seriously should Boston be considered as a playoff contender and should Thomas receive any fringe MVP consideration?
Listen: The world is upside down, and the Miami Heat sit upon it
To answer this, James Holas (@JHolasHoops) guests on the latest episode of Fastbreak Breakfast. James is a contributing writer for BBallBreakdown.com and the host of both The Away Team podcast and The Truth podcast about the Celtics. What’s the proper perspective to view the offense vs. defense trade-off for Thomas’ game? Does this current core of Celtics players have enough to challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers if they can just add one more piece?
Also covered:
- What is Boston’s best case scenario for team building over the next year?
- With a chance the Cavaliers might slip up, should they use their bevy of future assets to make a blockbuster trade for this season?
- Has Marcus Smart already maximized his potential?
- Looking at long-term salary flexibility, should Smart, Jae Crowder or Avery Bradley be moved preemptively?
- Where would the Celtics stack up in the Western Conference?
- Can Thomas be the best player on a title team?
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