Share this: Isaiah Thomas entered the Boston Celtics’ matchup with the Chicago Bulls on Sunday with emotions running high. Just a day before Game 1 of his team’s first-round playoff series, Thomas tragically lost his 22-year-old sister to a single-car crash in Washington. The star guard was hurting entering the game against the Bulls, which Celtics head coach Brad Stevens attested to prior to the matchup. Thomas manifested these feelings prior to the game, as he was visibly emotional during player introductions when the TD Garden crowd gave him a raucous ovation. While Thomas received unwavering support for taking the floor Sunday, the emotion he showed hours before tip-off was not well received by one basketball analyst. Speaking on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” on Sunday, Charles Barkley
Tag: Isaiah Thomas
Celtics Wrap: Boston Overcomes Slow Start To Top Magic, Stay In First
Share this: The Boston Celtics still are the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference, although they certainly had to fight for it Friday night. The Avery Bradley-less Celtics overcame a 13-point deficit to beat the lowly Orlando Magic 117-116 at TD Garden. That, coupled with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ blowout win over the Philadelphia 76ers, means the C’s still have a half-game lead atop the Eastern Conference. Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas led all scorers with his 35 points and seven assists. Jae Crowder (18 points, five rebounds), Jaylen Brown (12 points) and Al Horford (12 points, nine rebounds, six assists). Aaron Gordon led the Magic with 32 points and 16 rebounds. With the win, Boston improved to 49-27, while Orlando dropped to 27-49. Here’s
Isaiah Thomas Becomes Sixth Celtic To Score 2,000 Points In Single Season
Share this: Isaiah Thomas has had a fantastic season. The All-Star point guard has piloted the Boston Celtics to the No.1 spot in the Eastern Conference while leading the league in fourth-quarter scoring. And during the Celtics’ game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, Thomas added another accolade to his incredible season. Thomas scored 20 points during the first half and with the final two points, he eclipsed the 2,000 point mark for the season. He joined some impressive company, as he became just the sixth Celtic to break that mark in a single season. Larry Bird (four times), Paul Pierce (four times), John Havlicek (twice), Sam Jones (once) and Kevin McHale (once) also reached the milestone during their time in Boston. It’s been quite a year for Thomas. Thumbnail
Charles Barkley Sees Potential Big Weakness For Isaiah Thomas, Celtics
Share this: Not every TNT NBA analyst is as high on the Boston Celtics as Kenny Smith. Smith was very complimentary of the C’s on Thursday, saying they are the second-best team in the Eastern Conference with the second-best player — Isaiah Thomas — in the East. But Charles Barkley had a very different view of Boston, and IT was at the center of his reason, too. “Isaiah Thomas has to do so much heavy lifting, just like Russell Westbrook,” Barkley said. “… That to me is the problem and the weakness of the Boston Celtics. Isaiah Thomas, he has to make every important basket. That to me is the weakness of the Boston Celtics.” Barkley went on to name the supporting casts for the Toronto Raptors
Celtics Wrap: Suns Score Five Points In Six Seconds To Stun Celtics
Share this: The Boston Celtics looked like they had earned a hard-fought victory against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday afternoon. But, looks can be deceiving. The Celtics led by two points with six seconds remaining when Suns guard Eric Bledsoe tied the game by hitting a tough layup. Isaiah Thomas then turned the ball over after the inbounds pass, and rookie point guard Tyler Ulis hit a step back buzzer-beating 3-pointer to deal the C’s a devastating loss. Thomas led the Celtics with 35 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome 28 points from Bledsoe and a career-high 20 from Ulis. The Suns improve to 21-42 with the win, while the Celtics fall to 40-23. Here’s how it all went down. STARTING FIVEIsaiah Thomas, Jaylen Brown, Jae Crowder,
Avery Bradley’s Lock-Down Defense Just One Part Of Wild Celtics-Cavs Finish
Share this: The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers played one of the best basketball games of the season Wednesday night, and much of the postgame talk centered around the wonderful on-ball defense of Boston guard Avery Bradley. The veteran guard reminded everyone how dangerous the Celtics can be when he’s on the guard and giving the C’s lock-down defensive efforts in crunch time, matching Cleveland star Kyrie Irving step for step in the final seconds. Bradley is getting all the credit for his one-on-one play, and he certainly deserves a sizable chunk of the praise. His footwork and general sticktoitiveness was borderline mesmerizing, especially when you consider Irving is capable of doing this: Or this: [embedded content] So Irving obviously gets full marks for his ridiculous
Isaiah Thomas’ Unbelievable Journey Soon Could Earn Him Hefty Contract
Share this: Isaiah Thomas could go from the last pick of the 2011 NBA Draft to a $179 million contract. Not bad, eh? Thomas will be in for quite the raise when his contract ends after the 2017-18 season, and he’s certainly earned it. The 28-year-old point guard quickly is becoming a household name throughout the NBA, and he’s in the midst of an MVP-worthy season for the Boston Celtics with his 29.7 points per game. So it’s safe to say the $6.26 million he’s owed next season will be a lot lower than what he’ll likely receive in free agency following the 2017-18 campaign. The Celtics and Thomas do have a few options on how they get to that point, though, and USA TODAY