Boston Celtics star guard Isaiah Thomas has been on a tear this season offensively, scorching defenses on a nightly basis with his quickness and beautiful perimeter stroke.
Thomas, at only 5’9″, faces difficulties that most other NBA players can’t relate to. Being one of the smallest players in the league makes playing the game extremely challenging, but that hasn’t stopped Thomas: He ranks fifth in scoring with an average of 28 points per game.
Fans outside of Boston are beginning to notice his nightly dominance, including one fellow NBA player in particular: LeBron James.
Following from Chris Fedor of cleveland.com:
Prior to the Cavs-Celtics clash on Thursday night, LeBron James raved about the pint-sized Thomas, comparing him to former NBA guard Damon Stoudamire.
“They got a clear-cut star and that’s Isaiah,” James said. “The notion that they don’t have a star I think is fugazi, as Donnie Brasco would say. Earlier I was watching the movie. So, they’re a good team for a reason and it starts with the head of the snake and that’s Isaiah.”
James pointed to Thomas’ craftiness, ability to get into the paint at will, smooth shooting stroke and knack for commanding the opponent’s attention, all things Thomas displayed during Thursday’s game against Cleveland where he scored 31 points, including 17 in the second quarter.
When the best basketball player on the planet praises you, your confidence will likely spike to new levels. That is exactly what happened on Friday night, one day after Thomas played the Cavaliers, at TD Garden. Thomas absolutely dominated, eviscerating the Heat with an array of shots down the stretch in a tight victory.
He finished the contest with a career-high 52 points, dropping 29 of those in the fourth quarter — Two shy of the NBA record for most points in the fourth.
LeBron James compared Thomas to Damon Stoudamire, which is certainly ironic. The last player to score 50 points in a basketball game that was 5’10” or smaller was Stoudamire, in fact.
Both Stoudamire and Thomas have a certain quality that is very difficult to teach: Aggression. That grit, passion and determination that Thomas shows on a nightly basis has earned him the respect of millions of fans around the world — LeBron James now being one of them.
