Isaiah Thomas named to East All-Stars (split)
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Adrian WojnarowskiVerified account @WojVerticalNBA 10m10 minutes ago
Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas has been selected as a reserve to the Eastern Conference All-Stars, league sources tell Yahoo.
Good for IT, I guess...
Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas has been selected as a reserve to the Eastern Conference All-Stars, league sources tell Yahoo.
Good for IT, I guess...
Disheartening?! Sorry but get over it! I am happy for Isaiah. Good for him! He was the 60th pick of the draft and now he's an all-star...awesome! I am happy for Isaiah and that will be a nice reunion when he and Boogie meet all-star weekend. 
I was pissed off as much as anyone when Pete let Isaiah walk but we have Rondo and Collision and that's better duo than anything Isaiah would have offered in comparable minutes.
Let's not be naive. There was not amazing synergy between Boogie-Isaiah like there is between Boogie-Rondo.....so while we did not maximize value for Isaiah as a RFA and he certainly could have a role on this team, his loss is not going to prevent us from being the type of team we want to be.
The Celts can kind of mask his defensive deficiencies because they have a bunch of solid defenders in Smart and Crowder and etc whereas if he was with us our bad defense would only be that much worse.
Isaiah tries on defense but he's only 5'8" and that makes near impossible to challenge perimeter shooters. Given the current make-up of our team I don't regret his loss as much since perimeter defense is our biggest weakness.
I was pissed off as much as anyone when Pete let Isaiah walk but we have Rondo and Collision and that's better duo than anything Isaiah would have offered in comparable minutes.
Let's not be naive. There was not amazing synergy between Boogie-Isaiah like there is between Boogie-Rondo.....so while we did not maximize value for Isaiah as a RFA and he certainly could have a role on this team, his loss is not going to prevent us from being the type of team we want to be.
The Celts can kind of mask his defensive deficiencies because they have a bunch of solid defenders in Smart and Crowder and etc whereas if he was with us our bad defense would only be that much worse.
Isaiah tries on defense but he's only 5'8" and that makes near impossible to challenge perimeter shooters. Given the current make-up of our team I don't regret his loss as much since perimeter defense is our biggest weakness.
K
Disheartening?! Sorry but get over it! I am happy for Isaiah. Good for him! He was the 60th pick of the draft and now he's an all-star...awesome! I am happy for Isaiah and that will be a nice reunion when he and Boogie meet all-star weekend.
I was pissed off as much as anyone when Pete let Isaiah walk but we have Rondo and Collision and that's better duo than anything Isaiah would have offered in comparable minutes.
Let's not be naive. There was not amazing synergy between Boogie-Isaiah like there is between Boogie-Rondo.....so while we did not maximize value for Isaiah as a RFA and he certainly could have a role on this team, his loss is not going to prevent us from being the type of team we want to be.
The Celts can kind of mask his defensive deficiencies because they have a bunch of solid defenders in Smart and Crowder and etc whereas if he was with us our bad defense would only be that much worse.
Isaiah tries on defense but he's only 5'8" and that makes near impossible to challenge perimeter shooters. Given the current make-up of our team I don't regret his loss as much since perimeter defense is our biggest weakness.
I was pissed off as much as anyone when Pete let Isaiah walk but we have Rondo and Collision and that's better duo than anything Isaiah would have offered in comparable minutes.
Let's not be naive. There was not amazing synergy between Boogie-Isaiah like there is between Boogie-Rondo.....so while we did not maximize value for Isaiah as a RFA and he certainly could have a role on this team, his loss is not going to prevent us from being the type of team we want to be.
The Celts can kind of mask his defensive deficiencies because they have a bunch of solid defenders in Smart and Crowder and etc whereas if he was with us our bad defense would only be that much worse.
Isaiah tries on defense but he's only 5'8" and that makes near impossible to challenge perimeter shooters. Given the current make-up of our team I don't regret his loss as much since perimeter defense is our biggest weakness.
Props to both Boogie/IT
Rondo is an actual PG, so Rondo/anybody is better than IT/anybody if you have a star around.
But in world without IT's ego, Rondo/IT would be the way to work.
Even today IT really isn't a piece you can put on a good team with bigger stars. He plays like a bad franchise player. His shots, his pace, his game. And this is about what you get out of that: inefficient 20ppg scorer. But its mini-Iverson syndrome. You couldn't slot him in next to a major star and get synergy out of it. Hence why if he's ever going to be on a top team you need to hide him off as a 6th man, which he will never accept until he's on the downhill slide. He can play bad star, he can play 6th man, he can't play good star or complimnetary player.
Rondo on the other hand only has to watch out for other ball dominant types. Rondo and Harden or Lebron does not work. But Rondo and any of the great bigs do. Rondo and the scoring oriented guards and forwards (Durant, Melo etc.) does.
But in world without IT's ego, Rondo/IT would be the way to work.
Even today IT really isn't a piece you can put on a good team with bigger stars. He plays like a bad franchise player. His shots, his pace, his game. And this is about what you get out of that: inefficient 20ppg scorer. But its mini-Iverson syndrome. You couldn't slot him in next to a major star and get synergy out of it. Hence why if he's ever going to be on a top team you need to hide him off as a 6th man, which he will never accept until he's on the downhill slide. He can play bad star, he can play 6th man, he can't play good star or complimnetary player.
Rondo on the other hand only has to watch out for other ball dominant types. Rondo and Harden or Lebron does not work. But Rondo and any of the great bigs do. Rondo and the scoring oriented guards and forwards (Durant, Melo etc.) does.
Some of it's true, but Isaiah isn't inefficient now.
He is actually better at TS% than Cousins is- Isaiah has 56.2 TS% and Cousins has only 54.2 TS%.
And when it comes to ORPM IT is 10th in the league right now with 4.49, in comparison Cuz is 25th on the list with 3.01.
He still has problems defensively (though he is getting better) and there is some concern about his fit with certain players, but he is a very good player overall and he is the main guy in a team going 26-21 while we are at 20-26.
He is actually better at TS% than Cousins is- Isaiah has 56.2 TS% and Cousins has only 54.2 TS%.
And when it comes to ORPM IT is 10th in the league right now with 4.49, in comparison Cuz is 25th on the list with 3.01.
He still has problems defensively (though he is getting better) and there is some concern about his fit with certain players, but he is a very good player overall and he is the main guy in a team going 26-21 while we are at 20-26.
Isaiah Thomas is an All-Star because he plays in Boston. If he still played in Sacramento, he would not have been picked this year. His shooting splits are .424/.347/.892. That's worse than any of his three seasons with the Kings. He's shooting a career high 16.4 shots per game on a well-coached team (in a major media market) that's loaded with defensive role-players who can't score. It's an ideal situation for him.
People can continue to pine away for a scoring PG who looks off DeMarcus freakin' Cousins to shoot contested fadeaways and step backs if they like. I will admit that I hate watching scoring guards who hunt for their own shot instead of running the offense. I think the role of the PG is to keep everyone involved, not lead the team in scoring. But personal biases asides, I still contend that we're a better team without him. Collison is shooting a more efficient .453/.370/.833 while playing better man-to-man defense. Rondo is leading the league with nearly 12 assists per game, many of which are contributing toward Cousins' 27.2 PPG (currently 3rd in the league). There are only so many possessions in a game and scoring the ball has not been a problem for us.
If we had signed IT we wouldn't have had the money to sign Collison. It was an either-or situation. I really wanted us to trade him at the deadline for a pick or something, but reports are nobody wanted to give up more than a second rounder for his expiring contract and we would have had to throw in more players to make salaries match because he was a second round pick on a league minimum deal. In strictly literal terms we did lose a future All-Star for nothing. The reality of the situation though is that we couldn't afford to keep him and couldn't get a trade done before his contract expired. Nobody was going to trade us a perfect-fit comparable talent that we could afford.
People can continue to pine away for a scoring PG who looks off DeMarcus freakin' Cousins to shoot contested fadeaways and step backs if they like. I will admit that I hate watching scoring guards who hunt for their own shot instead of running the offense. I think the role of the PG is to keep everyone involved, not lead the team in scoring. But personal biases asides, I still contend that we're a better team without him. Collison is shooting a more efficient .453/.370/.833 while playing better man-to-man defense. Rondo is leading the league with nearly 12 assists per game, many of which are contributing toward Cousins' 27.2 PPG (currently 3rd in the league). There are only so many possessions in a game and scoring the ball has not been a problem for us.
If we had signed IT we wouldn't have had the money to sign Collison. It was an either-or situation. I really wanted us to trade him at the deadline for a pick or something, but reports are nobody wanted to give up more than a second rounder for his expiring contract and we would have had to throw in more players to make salaries match because he was a second round pick on a league minimum deal. In strictly literal terms we did lose a future All-Star for nothing. The reality of the situation though is that we couldn't afford to keep him and couldn't get a trade done before his contract expired. Nobody was going to trade us a perfect-fit comparable talent that we could afford.
Agree with all of this 100%.
His potential career path reminds me a little of Jamal Crawford, albeit a much shorter Jamal Crawford...
Crawford was a starter and volume shooter earlier in his career. He was inefficient, selfish and didn't play any D. When his career took a turn for the worse, he resurrected it as a great 6th man for the Clips.
I see Thomas going down a similar road. His numbers are inflated because of the team he plays for. Give him a few more years and he'll be a solid 6th man playing 24+ minuter per game, where he should be.
BTW, Crawford looks like he's done. He's 35 and having his worst year in a while. His shooting percentages fell of a cliff. Wouldn't be surprised if he retires in the off season. Solid career overall.
Again IT isn't an inefficient scorer, he is significantly more efficient based on TS% than Cousins and Gay.
He is slightly less efficient than guys like Gordon Hayward, Ryan Anderson and Chris Paul and more efficient than guys like Dirk, Paul George, AD, Blake Griffin, Al Horford, Damian Lilard and Russell Westbrook.
And yes, Crawford is done.
He is slightly less efficient than guys like Gordon Hayward, Ryan Anderson and Chris Paul and more efficient than guys like Dirk, Paul George, AD, Blake Griffin, Al Horford, Damian Lilard and Russell Westbrook.
And yes, Crawford is done.
I like Isaiah Thomas a lot. My favorite type of player to watch is the fearless small man with a slash-first mentality that takes a beating in the paint and never complains.
But I don't see him becoming a 6th man on a contending team purely because of his size. It's unfortunate that people as talented and as hard working as he is gets hit with circumstances. He will need the help of his teammates and intelligent defense in order to overcome his defensive disadvantage, if a contending team has the willingness to consider the fit of the players around Thomas.
But finally, good for him!
But I don't see him becoming a 6th man on a contending team purely because of his size. It's unfortunate that people as talented and as hard working as he is gets hit with circumstances. He will need the help of his teammates and intelligent defense in order to overcome his defensive disadvantage, if a contending team has the willingness to consider the fit of the players around Thomas.
But finally, good for him!
