Isaiah Thomas Must Lead Boston Celtics Past Atlanta Hawks
By Derek Mcvay
There is one thing that the Boston Celtics have truly never had since Brad Stevens took over the team in 2013, a shot maker. They finally found one in Isaiah Thomas. Finding consistent offense from one player had been a struggle for the Celtics the past few seasons, until they acquired Thomas late last year. He spent the final two months of that season coming off of the bench for Boston, but he quickly won the fan base over. He showcased an array of offensive talents. Not only could he shoot the three, but at his size, Thomas was, and still is, more than willing to attack the basket and get to the free throw line.
Plain and simple, Thomas can get buckets. In the 100+ games he’s been a Celtic, Thomas has averaged 21.6 PPG, and he has really flourished this season as a full time starter. He finished 11th in the league in PPG with 22.1, and was particularly effective in crunch time. Thomas finished in the top 10 in fourth quarter scoring this season.
This year, when the Celtics found themselves in a rut offensively, they looked to Thomas to dig them out. When it was late in the game, and the team needed a basket, they looked to Thomas. When the opposing team was on a run offensively, it was once again Thomas whom the team looked at to stop the bleeding. Now, with the playoffs set to begin, the team, and an entire fan base, are looking at Thomas for help.
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The Atlanta Hawks are one of the better defensive teams in the NBA. There is nothing spectacular about this team offensively, they make their mark on defense. The Hawks have the second-best defensive rating in the league, second to only the San Antonio Spurs, but are tops in the league in terms of opponent’s field goal percentage. That’s bad news for a Celtics team that ranked 24th in field goal percentage this season. That’s where Thomas comes in.
The Celtics are going to need Thomas at his best to get past the Hawks. He’s had success against Atlanta this season, averaging 20.5 PPG and 6 AST. However, he has struggled with his shot, shooting just over 38% in those games. One thing he was able to do was get to the free throw line — he averaged over seven attempts in those contests. That’s going to be key to both his, and the Celtics success this series.
Atlanta is one of the better teams in the league in keeping opponents off of the free throw line. With how stingy Atlanta’s defense is in the half court, Boston is going to have to make a conscious effort to attack the basket and get to the line and try to manufacture some offense. Boston’s offense is at its best in transition, using its defense to lead to fast break opportunities. Those opportunities will exist as Atlanta is prone to turnovers, but Boston is going to have to execute in the halfcourt, with Thomas leading the charge.
Whether it be Jeff Teague, Dennis Schroder or Kent Bazemore matched up with Thomas, he’s going to have his hands full. Schroder is the best of the bunch, and Teague’s a bit overrated defensively, but all three are pesky defenders and they’re going to be physical with Thomas. He’s going to see a lot of traps and double teams, but Thomas must stay composed, make smart decisions and take care of the ball. That’s something he didn’t do very well in the regular season against Atlanta. The Hawks were one of just three teams against which Thomas averaged four turnovers or more.
Boston’s offense must, and will, flow through Thomas. Guys like Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Marcus Smart will set the tone defensively, Thomas needs to do that on the offensive end. That means attacking the basket, getting into the teeth of the Hawks defense and making smart decisions. It’s not just about scoring, Thomas needs to facilitate too.
He struggled in last year’s playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and turnovers were a big issue. Thomas posted four or more turnovers in three of the four games. Part of it was inexperience, it was the first postseason appearance of his career, and he had only been with the Celtics for 20+ games. Those aren’t excuses anymore. After what was arguably the best regular season of his career, Thomas appears ready to lead the charge against Atlanta.
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Boston is going to try to win this series with their defense, but they’ll need somebody to provide some offense to back that up. As they’ve done throughout the course of the season, they’ll look to Thomas.