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Isaiah Thomas injury: Celtics guard out for weekend

By Chris Barnewall

Mar 15, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas (4) takes a shot during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at TD Garden. The Boston Celtics won 117-104. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 15, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas (4) takes a shot during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at TD Garden. The Boston Celtics won 117-104. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /
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Isaiah Thomas will be out for a few games with a small injury, making life a touch more difficult for the Boston Celtics.

Isaiah Thomas will miss a small period of time due to injury the Celtics announced today. Thomas recently injured his right knee but when that happened isn’t very clear. He played last night in a win over the Timberwolves and scored 27 points.

However, it’s clearly something that’s bothering him and the team enough to give him a few days of rest while Boston heads to New York for games against the Knicks and Nets.

Thomas has been the Celtics best player this season by far and when he missed time earlier in the season they didn’t fare well. However, that was earlier in the year when Boston was still trying to workout adjustments they have made over the offseason. They also weren’t facing two of the weakest teams in the NBA. Brooklyn is arguably the worst team in basketball while New York is massively inconsistent. Even a weakened Celtics team should be able to beat either of these teams.

With how out of nowhere this announcement feels, it’s possible this has been a long term injury that Thomas has been dealing with all season. If that’s the case, Boston might see this short road trip as a chance to rest Thomas and still pick up some wins.

Most teams that plan on contending during the playoffs this year are starting to rest key players. There is nobody more important to the Celtics chances at making a playoff run than Thomas and it makes perfect sense that they would want him fully healthy come April/May.

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One negative here is that Thomas could be missing out on a prime opportunity to raise his MVP and All-NBA candidacy. He likely won’t win the MVP award, but he has a chance to finish in the top five of voting with the way he’s carried the Celtics through much of this season. He’s also been one of the best point guards in the NBA and has a great chance at making one of the All-NBA teams, but he needs a strong finish to convince voters and he can’t do that while sitting on the bench.

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