Phew! Boston Celtics fans like myself can finally take a sigh of relief. Isaiah Thomas has been voted onto the Eastern Conference All-Star team as a reserve.
If it were up to the fans around the world, Thomas would not have made the list. Thomas was ranked ninth in fan votes amongst Eastern Conference guards when voting ended. Luckily for Thomas and Celtics, fans only vote for the starting lineups, and coaches vote for the reserves on the team.
Thomas is not the most popular player in the league, and that probably has a lot to do with his 5 foot 9 inch frame. He does not have the size and athleticism to fly above the rim like we expect All-Star players to do. However, his contributions to a winning team were hard to overlook for the coaches who voted for him. Thomas is averaging 21.5 points per game and 6.6 assists per game for a Celtics team who is in third place in the tightly contested Eastern Conference. These are both career highs for Thomas.
Fans around the league instantly criticized the decision to include Thomas on the team. Critics claimed that he is a liability on defense because of his size, and that his numbers are so good because of the lack of help around him.
These critics clearly have not watched many Celtics games this season. Yes, Thomas has sometimes been exposed on defense in the past, but he has been rejuvenated since coming to Boston. Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens recently praised Thomas for his all around play.
"He's not only a dynamic scorer, but the way that he's able to run the offense, the way that he's been able to defend for us, just his all-around game, I think, obviously, he's helped our team," said Stevens.
The argument that he is scoring so much because he has to is also bogus. His team is in third place in the Eastern Conference, so to say that the Celtics have no other options is a stretch.
Just give the man the credit he deserves. Or don't, it's nothing new to Isaiah Thomas.
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