With the NBA’s restart approaching, Marcus Smart drops enormous praise for former Boston Celtics star, Isaiah Thomas.
T-minus 32 days until we finally get to see Boston Celtics basketball being played on the hardwood once again.
After such a long gap in between action, fans of the organization have become restless in their wait for the NBA’s restart. Despite concerns of player dropouts, and increased Coronavirus cases in the area play is still expected to resume on July 30th at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
Prior to the COVID-19 induced hiatus on March 11th, the shamrocks were having themselves a very nice campaign. Through 64 games played the team accumulated a record of 43-21, good enough for third in the eastern conference, fifth in the association, and, subsequently, found themselves fifth in the league’s power rankings.
Still, even with these unequivocal truths, to say the Celtics are a flawless unit would be a bit of a farce.
Don’t get me wrong, Boston certainly has one of the best core groups in the league with the likes of Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, and Marcus Smart roaming around. However, outside of this top-heavy squad, the team’s rotation tapers off a bit in terms of talent/ production.
One of the most frequently talked about sore spots within the C’s rotation is their scoring output
More from Hardwood Houdini
- Boston Celtics’ two-way contract decision will be made after training camp
- Proposed trade sends Boston Celtics playoff killer to the Cs from rival
- ‘Face of Germany’s stunning run’ in FIBA World Cup not the only ex-Boston Celtics player to win gold
- Proposed Boston Celtics trade target pitched for reunion with fired coach
- Battle For Banner 18: Will Boston Celtics battle historical foe in 2024 Finals?
off the pine. Currently speaking, Brad Stevens’ crew ranks 29th in the league in points per game, 27th in 3-point percentage, and 22nd in offensive rating.
Despite this unfortunate grouping of statistics, the Boston Celtics still find themselves as title contenders heading into the league’s resumption. Even so, it still may behoove them to utilize the current transaction window to add some talents that could help bolster such a weak spot on the team.
There are still quite a few free agents eligible for the Disney bubble, and there is one player, in particular, we’ve discussed Danny Ainge bringing back throughout the 2019-20 season that could prove to be a worthy option.
Isaiah Thomas, former star and MVP candidate for the Boston Celtics, currently finds himself unemployed and ready to lace his kicks up for virtually “any team” that would have him — legitimately in his own words.
Last seen playing for the Washington Wizards up until the mid-way point of this year’s campaign, the veteran point guard proved to still be capable of producing at an effective level. Through 40 games, Thomas was posting averages of 12.2 points and 3.7 assists on a career-high 41 percent shooting from deep (4.7 attempts per game).
Though some may disagree with us that I.T. would be a quality addition to the C’s second unit during their upcoming playoff run, it’s undeniable that at least some teams should consider adding him to their roster for Orlando.
Now, with Marcus Smart’s recent public praise of Thomas, it may not be too far fetched to believe Boston could be the ones pondering on the idea.
This past weekend, Smart went to social media to comment on his former Celtics teammate, stating that, not only is he a great baller, but that at his height he’s simply the “best to ever do it”.
Best to ever do it under 6’ my brother @isaiahthomas pic.twitter.com/cmyjZWzLHW
— marcus smart (@smart_MS3) June 28, 2020
Reciprocating the love, Thomas would go on to respond to Smart’s statement, calling Smart one of his favorite teammates ever and praising him for his unbelievable defensive chops.
“If you want to win put Marcus Smart in” one of my favorite teammates ever. Real deal best defender in terms of being able to guard 1-5 on any night https://t.co/RWXLi5VuBc
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) June 28, 2020
Last he played for the green & white, Thomas found himself producing at unbelievable heights. In 2016-17, the point guard found himself boasting impressive averages of 28.9 points, 5.9 assists, and just shy of a steal per game on 46 percent shooting from the floor and 38 percent shooting from deep.
Having his career completely altered from the moment he stepped into the TD Garden as a “home player”, Thomas has only shown to be capable of excelling in a Brad Stevens-led scheme and could prove to be a wonderful asset to have coming off the bench for this scoring-inept second unit in the postseason — not to mention their current option at the backup one guard position, Brad Wanamaker, has been wildly unimpressive throughout the year.
Look, we understand that Marcus Smart is certainly not the general manager for the Boston Celtics. His tweet by no means suggests that Thomas is indefinitely heading back to Beantown for another go during the final stretch of the 2019-20 campaign.
However, considering how valuable he is to the franchise, his words and public opinions could certainly have an impact on their actual GM’s — Mr. Ainge — decision making as the transaction window nears it’s close.
Like we’ve already stated, Boston will likely sit out on free agency prior to the resumption of the season. However, it would appear that Smart could be quite fond of the idea of his former teammate and friend Isaiah Thomas coming back to Beantown, as many of us have been for quite some time.