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Isaiah Thomas is a cold blooded killer. The fighting pride of the state of Washington, Thomas is a two time NBA All-Star. 2017 All-NBA Second Team. He’s listed at 5’9” and might actually be shorter than that, but he towers above the competition in one regard: his ability to create space and get his shot off, especially when it gets to be closing time. The Washington Husky finished the season just behind NBA Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook in fourth quarter scoring (9.8 ppg to Russ’ 10.0) after leading the category most of the year. The NBA database only goes back to the 1996-1997 season in terms of measuring this stat, but Kobe Bryant’s 2005-06 season stands as the highest fourth quarter scoring average on record, but that numbers stands only at 9.5 points per game in the fourth. With all that said, Isaiah Thomas has earned the right to be called “The King of the Fourth” (interchangeably, The King in the Fourth also works). Isaiah was the LAST pick in the NBA draft, and he led his team to the best record in the Eastern conference. He did this with his playmaking, finishing third in the league in scoring (28.9 points per game) just behind the MVP and his runner-up in James Harden, and ahead of the other first team All-NBA guys Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Kawhi Leonard, and obviously everyone else in the league. He did so with a Player Efficiency Rating (PER) that was JUST behind LeBron (27.0 versus LBJ’s 27.4). IT’s ability to generate just enough room to be able to attack the gaps should certainly be praised, as should his relentless range, agility, and ability to stay on balance. What shouldn’t be lost in the shuffle, however, is the absolute brilliance of Boston’s Brad Stevens in how he lines up his guys. Allowing IT to come off those double staggered screens so he can attack downhill, especially since it’s mostly on the right side so Thomas can turn the corner to go to his strong hand, is not something that should be overlooked (in fact, I did a whole video about it. Link below). The Celtics managed to reach the conference finals, something they haven’t done since the likes of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce ruled to roost in Boston. They did so by winning 4 straight after a 2-0 deficit to the Chicago Bulls, and were pushed to the limit by the Washington Wizards, yet they overcame the odds anyway. The point? The future is bright in Beantown. HEART OVER HEIGHT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxwJWTRC4T4&t=13s
