Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Thomas endured a lackluster return while putting up four points on 2-of-7 shooting over 20 minutes during Wednesday’s 93-86 loss to the Miami Heat. He turned the ball over three times and missed three free throws, then suggested it might have been the first time in his NBA career he’d missed three straight from the charity stripe. Thomas went so far as to dub it, “one of the worst games I’ve ever played.”
Thomas’ struggles were about the only thing that cushioned his first hard fall.
“I was playing so bad, I didn’t even care about the fall, honestly,” said Thomas. “It hurt — the initial hit when I took the charge — but other than that, I was all right.”
Thomas looked little like the speedy, point-creating dynamo we saw over his first 10 games after joining Boston at the trade deadline. He appeared to be hurting and his limited mobility made it tough for him to stay in front of Dragic, who routinely torched Boston with his speed throughout the first half.
Thomas played less than seven minutes in the second half as Boston leaned on a hodgepodge lineup to fuel their fourth-quarter charge.
“There’s no excuses, I have to play better,” said Thomas. “I’m my biggest critic, I have to come out and play better, offensively and defensively.”
It’s one thing to be rusty, it’s another to be gimpy and injured.
I give Isaiah Thomas credit for gutting it out and wanting to play in a game with playoff implications, but he was a detriment to his team last night.
I thought CSNNE’s Rich Levine summed it up best:
This is a glimpse at what Isaiah Thomas’s game will look like in 2027, when he’s the 9th or 10th man on a contender. His Jason Terry years.
— Rich Levine (@rich_levine) March 26, 2015
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Thomas insists he’ll play Friday vs the Knicks. Unless his back/buttocks loosens up significantly over the next few days, I would hold him out.
Related: Herald – Rusty, rough return for Thomas | CSNNE – Thomas struggles to find shot, rhythm in return | Globe – Thomas struggles in return | Mass Live – Thomas played ‘one of worst games’
On Page 2, a look at another ATO gem drawn up by Brad Stevens.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYY__jHK0M8]Instead of harping on the Celtics piss-poor effort and execution last night (listen to talk radio or read Chris Gasper’s stale take for that) , I wanted to highlight one of the few positives in last night’s game.
As Brian Scalabrine talked about during the game, it’s a very simple play, one you see at the junior high level.
It all hinges on Jae Crowder’s ability to act like he’s setting a second screen.
Well done, Jae. Except for the part where you missed the lay-up.
The rest of the links:
Herald – Celtics fall flat to Heat at home | Lack of effort unacceptable | CSNNE – Celtics squander chance to move into 7th place | Celtics make it fun with 4th quarter run | Cs in good position to control 8th seed | Globe – Celtics showing a lack of discipline | Mass Live – Dragic: IT a great teammate, but chemistry not right in PHX | ESPN Boston – Sickening effort by Cs in playoff quest | 2015 front office rankings (C’s 9th)
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