Written by Tim Cato at SB Nation.com
When Isaiah Thomas dropped 53 points in the Garden three weeks ago, he cemented himself as a Boston legend. Thomas turned a point guard duel against John Wall into a one-sided affair by taking over the fourth quarter and overtime in the Eastern Conference semifinals, scoring the most points in a Celtics playoff game since John Havlicek.
After Thomas was shut down for the rest of the postseason with a hip injury, the Celtics won Game 3 against the Cavaliers on Sunday without their starting point guard. It was a glimpse into a potential future for the team that doesn’t involve Thomas, and it was compelling.
But first, a few disclaimers.
- Isaiah Thomas may finish fifth in the MVP race this season and it will be completely deserved. His incredible regular season was a sensational journey for anyone who followed along.
- Thomas also tragically lost his sister this postseason and fought through emotional and physical pain before succumbing to a hip injury that may require surgery.
- If LeBron James doesn’t disappear for the first time all postseason, or if Marcus Smartdoesn’t explode for seven three-pointers, or if Avery Bradley’s three-pointer doesn’t get the perfect bounce, the Celtics probably would have lost Game 3. It’s not about the win or the loss. It’s about how they played.
The fact remains that the best future for Boston might be one without Thomas.
We all know about Isaiah’s biggest challenge: He’s short.
Despite all of his remarkable abilities, Thomas will always stand 5’9. He has developed dozens of tricks to make up for the height disparity he faces 100 percent of the time in the NBA, and he’s an incredible athlete. But there are times when Thomas is nearly a foot shorter than his counterpart.
Thomas’ offensive production speaks for itself. He’s an elite scorer with incredible pick-and-roll skills who is dangerous behind the three-point line. Put him on any team in the league and Thomas would probably improve their offense.
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