Are MVP Considerations Unrealistic For Isaiah Thomas?
By Tom Mulherin
Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas is keeping pace with the NBA’s best players, making his MVP considerations more realistic than expected
When Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas stepped to the free throw line near the end of the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat on Friday night, TD Garden started booming with the chant that fans have yelled for him all season.
M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!
That marked about the fourth or fifth time the cheer broke out on the night, as Thomas kept a straight face and calmly sank both of his free throws. The rest of the crowd wasn’t so successful in keeping its cool, however, going crazy as it watched Thomas finish with a career-high 52 points in a 117-114 Celtics win.
Thomas, who scored 29 points in the fourth quarter alone, set a franchise record for most points in a quarter. Just one more basket and he would’ve tied Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA-record of 31 points in the fourth quarter.
“It was a special feeling,” Thomas said in a post-game interview televised by Comcast SportsNet. “To be hot like that in the fourth quarter, that was special.”
As jaw-dropping as this effort was because of how easy it seemed, this sort of performance from Thomas is starting to become decreasingly surprising as the season continues.
With game after game of career-high scoring nights and 30-plus points, it’s no wonder fans at TD Garden light up with excitement every time the 5-foot-9 guard steps onto the floor. They all love to shout a hopeful “M-V-P” chant at every chance they get, while the rest of the NBA scoffs at the very idea of Thomas as an MVP.
But are such prestigious considerations for “the little guy” that unrealistic?
Let’s think about it.
By scoring 52 on Friday, Thomas now ranks fifth in the NBA with 27.7 points per game, only trailing Russell Westbrook (31.3), Anthony Davis (29.1), DeMarcus Cousins (29.1) and James Harden (27.8).
That’s already impressive enough on its own. But then once you factor in that Thomas is the only player in the NBA to score at least 20 points in all but one of his games this season, that puts the small point guard up on a whole other pedestal of scoring.
That’s right; Thomas is probably the most consistent scorer in the NBA, as he holds onto the longest streak of 20-plus games (18) in the league so far this season. I suppose that’s what happens when a guy can finish around the rim just as good as any other player, all while getting to the free throw line and being able to shoot threes.
Did you know Thomas averages the sixth-most free throw attempts with 8.9 per game? Did you also know that he owns the sixth-best free throw percentage (89.9 percent)? In fact, none of the guys who take more free throws than him rank above him in percentage, making Thomas perhaps the most efficient free throw shooter in the game.
How about that?
Speaking of efficiency, it’s probably worth noting that Thomas’ impressive scoring numbers come while ranking 40th in minutes played per game (33.5 minutes). Not a single person who averages just as many or fewer minutes per game scores as much as he does, as he ranks third in scoring per 48 minutes with a 39.8 scoring estimate.
Only Westbrook and Cousins rank higher.
On top of his efficiency, Thomas is also one of the best scorers when it matters most – the fourth quarter. Ever since Celtics coach Brad Stevens restructured the rotation on December 16 so that Thomas plays more minutes in the fourth, the point guard is averaging a whopping 13 points in the frame (over nine games). To put that in perspective, Westbrook and Cousins averaged 8.4 and 10.7 points, respectively, in the fourth quarter through that time.
Wow.
So not only is Thomas one of the most efficient scorers in the league, he’s also one of the timeliest?
Go figure.
Perhaps a big part of that is also considering that Thomas turns the ball over very rarely for how often he holds it. His turnover percentage (9.0 percent) is the smallest out of the 13 players with at least a 29 usage percentage. In comparison, likely MVP candidates Harden (19.8 turnover percent) and Westbrook (16.1 percent) don’t take care of the ball nearly as well.
I guess that’s what leads to his 122.2 offensive rating, which actually ranks higher than Harden (120.4), Westbrook (110.2) AND Cousins (110).
Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that Thomas should be the MVP if the season ended today. Outside of his scoring, Thomas’ numbers aren’t overwhelming (his 6.1 assists per game rank 17th). And since scoring isn’t exactly rare – 22 players currently average at least 22 points per game – it’s doubtful that Thomas’ efforts would be remotely close enough to win MVP.
All I’m saying is; considering where Thomas ranks among scorers and how efficiently he is doing it, he should at least be in the conversation. Especially when taking into account that he’s scoring so much at just 5-foot-9, all while playing better defense than Harden and Westbrook (believe it or not).
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It’s just time that everybody recognizes him for more than just an All-Star, and instead as one of the league’s best. He’s more than earned that much.