Isaiah Thomas is having, without question, the best season of his career. He is currently averaging a career high in points per game, assists per game rebounds per game and he has lead the Boston Celtics to the three seed in the east.
Thomas has always been known as a dynamic scorer and that is what drew the Celtics into trading for him last year. He is one of the best three point shooters on the team, the most reliable finisher at the rim and does an incredible job of drawing fouls. All of this was out in full force last year and it made all of Boston fall in love with him.
The question then becomes, what has Thomas done to improve his game if his ability to score has stayed around the same. Thomas’ shooting percentage only jumped up around 1% and his three point shooting has improved even less. Thomas’ physical abilities on the court really have not changed this season and the volume has only increased by fewer than three shot attempts per game, accounting for the increase in points per game.
Thomas’ improvement has been about everything else that he has added to the scoring. Thomas was immediately the go to scorer for the Celtics but he has developed into much more this season and the majority of that development is in his mind. Thomas has come into this season with a different mindset and it has transformed the Celtics offense.
Last season Thomas became recognized as the only player on the Celtics who could create his own shot. The Celtics were not the best finishing offense in the league and Thomas was the only player they could look for to create a shot for himself when the offense wasn’t flowing properly. Thomas is still the best shot creator on the Celtics but his mindset has transitioned. Even if Thomas is still capable of creating those shots for himself it is no longer his only priority.
Thomas has evolved his game from primary shot maker to primary play maker and he sets the tone for the entire offense. Thomas leads the way when it comes to pushing the ball and setting the pace they need to be successful. Thomas leads the way when it comes to their phenomenal ball movement that generates the quantity and quality of opportunities they need in order to be successful. Thomas has completely adapted his game to perfectly fit into Stevens’ offense.
Thomas’ development this season has not been about improving his physical abilities on the court, it has been about being the best possible player for this team. Thomas is not concerned with simply getting a shot off, he is concerned with getting the right shot off. Thomas understands the importance of opportunities to this Celtics team and he is doing absolutely everything to improve their opportunities.
The biggest change in Thomas’ mentality is that willingness to pass. Thomas continues to be the main scorer on the team but he is also on pace to be the first player since Larry Bird to average 20+ points and 6+ assists for the Celtics. Thomas’ balance has been crucial to his game. Thomas needs to be the willing passer to get his teammates involved but under no circumstances can he be a hesitant shooter. The key for Thomas is decision making. With the amount of control he has with the ball in his hands he needs to be responsible for determining what will be the best possible opportunity for the Celtics.
The key to Thomas’ game is deferring when he needs to be a passer and when he needs to be a shooter, he needs to avoid wasting opportunities at all costs. The Celtics need a high volume of good quality opportunities in order to overcome their poor shooting and Thomas may be the best in the league in finding that balance.
There are only 8 players who average more assists per game than Thomas and there are only 11 players who average more points per game. Of the players that average more assists, Ricky Rubio is the only one to average fewer turnovers per game. It also happens that Rubio averages less than half the points that Thomas does (Chris Paul falls just short as he actually averages the same amount of turnovers as Thomas with many more assists)
Of the players that average more points per game than Thomas, only Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis and DeMar DeRozan average fewer turnovers per game. Of those 3 players the closest anyone get to Thomas’ distributing is Butler’s 4.3 assists per game, which is still more than 2 assists per game behind Thomas.
Thomas is the lone player in the league that is averaging at least 21 points per game page, 6.6 assists per game with 2.6 turnovers per game or fewer and he is doing that with the 51st most minutes per game in the league. On an offense that requires a high volume of quality opportunities, Thomas has been far better than anyone could have expected and playing with that kind of balance will ensure that the lack of a superstar narrative in Boston will die very soon.
The Celtics play in a style where the cannot have a point guard that is just a shooter, or just a passer. They need a point guard that can be trusted to run a fluid offense. Thomas has been the most confident shooter and the most confident passer on the team and he has done it while protecting the ball better than anyone else in the league.
Thomas is doing more than anyone else in the league at making sure that the Celtics first of all get all the opportunities that they need from pace and second of all is making sure that those are high quality opportunities with great ball movement and limited turnovers. The most amazing aspect of Thomas’ game this year has been his mind because he is doing an unparalleled job of evaluating when to run in transition, when to pass the ball, when to drive to the rim and when to shoot the ball, and he is making these decisions in the third fastest offense in the league.
Next: Boston Celtics Free Agent Target: Al Jefferson
Brad Stevens has implemented a phenomenal offensive system and Thomas has adapted his game in a way that perfectly suits that offense. He has had the most important mental changes and because of that he has been able to optimize his ability on the court in a way that no one else in the NBA is doing. A lot is being said about Stevens’ ability to get the absolute most out of his players. More needs to be said about Thomas putting the absolute best into that system.