BOSTON – Many see Isaiah Thomas’ lack of height as a disadvantage considering his occupation. The Celtics point guard, however, sees it as simply a number and nothing more.
After his latest performance against the Milwaukee Bucks, it’s easy to see why he thinks that way.
Thomas, who at 5-foot-9 is the shortest active player in the league, took on the longest team in the NBA Thursday night, yet he was the one playing like a giant among men.
He erupted for a game-high 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field, to go along with a team high seven assists, fueling Boston’s 112-107 win.
Seven of Thomas’ buckets came inside the paint, which is impressive given that Milwaukee boasts an average height of 6-8, which, according to basketball-reference.com, is tops in the NBA.
Per usual, Thomas hit his peak during crunch time Thursday night. As Milwaukee attempted to cook up a comeback effort, he cooled them off with a scoring and dishing flurry.
With the Celtics leading 96-91 and a little more than five minutes remaining in the game, Thomas scored consecutive running floaters in the paint to up the score to 100-93. He was so quick to the hoop on both drives that no Buck player had time to even rise off the ground to contest him.
C’s coach Brad Stevens was in awe with Thomas’ late-game performance and ability to combat such length while making it look so easy.
“I thought it was the best that he’s played – or one of the best games he’s played – against that kind of length, in that moment,” Stevens said. “They were blitzing and they were trying to keep a bunch of long bodies on him. They switched some, and he just made the right play, whether it was a pull-up, whether it was a drive, whether it was the right pass at the right time, I just thought he did a really good job of that.”
It just doesn’t seem logical that a man of Thomas’ size is able to be so successful against players that are more than a foot taller than him. Thomas says the key to doing so is his spontaneity around the basket.
“I’m just trying to be unpredictable out there,” Thomas said after the game. “Teams are really trying to slow me down and put different guys on me and keep me seeing two guys at once when I come off pick-and-rolls, so I’m just trying to give them something different each and every time down.”
Thomas’ two most unpredictable moments Thursday night didn’t show up in the scoring column, however; they showed up in the assist column.
Thomas’ dribble-drives were causing Milwaukee’s defense to collapse on him throughout the game, and that allowed him to dish off two of the most impressive passes of his career.
The first dime came during the opening minutes of the second half when Thomas drove to the hoop and tossed a no-look pass behind his back to Amir Johnson, who laid it in with ease.
That first dish was impressive, but it was nothing compared to the main course he served up during the fourth quarter.
With the C’s up 106-102 and less than a minute remaining, Thomas drove to the basket, causing the entire Bucks defense to collapse on him. When he leapt off the ground just outside the restricted area, he tossed a left-handed no-look pass behind his shoulders and over the Bucks’ defenders to Jae Crowder in the right corner. Crowder took the 3 without hesitation and swished it, giving Boston a 109-102 lead with 50 seconds remaining.
The play sent IT’s teammates and the rest of TD Garden into a frenzy, while the Bucks looked lost in the headlights and could only shake their heads in disbelief.
“That was an unbelievable pass,” said his 6-6 counterpart, Michael Carter-Williams. “He’s a great player, he’s an All-star and he definitely showed why… [he] makes big plays in big time moments.”
Thomas later reflected on the moment and could barely believe it himself.
“I saw [Crowder] before I threw it, but when I threw it I couldn’t see him no more,” said Thomas. “So I’m glad he stayed in that corner and made me look good.”
In reality, Thomas’ passing has been making his teammates look good, as he has been setting them up for baskets more than ever lately. During his last five games, Thomas has averaged 25.6 points, and even more impressively, 9.0 assists.
This season, he says he’s been trying to adopt more of a facilitative role while still remaining an elite scoring threat.
“The game’s slowing down for me, for the most part,” said Thomas. “I think I’m just a better decision maker; I’m not just trying to score every time. That’s something I’ve done my whole life, where scoring has been easy for me, but now it’s just trying to pick and choose my spots, knowing when to be aggressive for myself and when to get other guys going.
“I think that’s my next step is becoming a more complete basketball player and being more unpredictable, going out there and trying to make the right play each and every time.”
As for Thursday night, Thomas’ playmaking was flawless and it delivered a big ‘W’ that enabled Boston to hold onto its third-place ranking in the Eastern Conference standings.
He defied the odds despite Milwaukee’s incredible collective height advantage over him. But of course, Thomas will only laugh if you say his height is a disadvantage, because to him, 5-foot-9 is a meaningless number.
The only number with substance is the one that shows up in the win column.
