The one and only Isaiah Thomas thread (merged)

As much as I would love to have IT, and underrated him, his defense is still horrible.
There has been more attention given to how much worse the team is with him on vs off the floor, despite his great offense.

That said, he'd still be the second best player on this team without question.
 
kingjatt said:
I was against keeping him at the time as a starter (not letting him go for scraps though) but I couldn't remember why until I saw this article:

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/c...-quarter-killer-but-which-team-is-he-killing/

Even with his scoring he is STILL a net negative in the 4th due to other teams attacking him on defense. So he may not be MVP material but a lot better than whatever we have now.
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he'd be perfect as a 6th man role where he can dominate the ball in the 2nd unit. that can't work in the 1st unit. he was unwilling to accept it so he needed to go. wish we got at least a future 1st for him.
 
Big Cuz 15 said:
he'd be perfect as a 6th man role where he can dominate the ball in the 2nd unit. that can't work in the 1st unit. he was unwilling to accept it so he needed to go. wish we got at least a future 1st for him.
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When a player average almost 30 ppg, is a great leader and a great competitor its laughable to say "he needed to go". I don't care if he is a bad defender, he is a top end talent, something this team severely lacks outside of Cousins. The goal of any franchise is to get players the level of Cousins and IT and surround players around them that cover for their weaknesses. If you surround Cuz/IT with defenders you can alleviate some of their weaknesses. Cuz/IT combo would be deadly, both of them draw so many fouls, this team would live on the free throw line.
 
Has the notion that IT refused to be a 6th man ever been substantiated? I see this frequently regarding IT, but remember that he signed with the Suns to be the 6th man.
 
IT doesn't need to settle for a 6th man role. Anyone consistently bringing that is up being petty. Guy is averaging 29pts 6asts, and leading the NBA in 4th quarter points.

He is a top 5 PG. He's a top 5 MVP candidate. So for anyone to keep re-insisting that he should've "settled" as our 6th man here... guy had 20pts 6asts here as a King. He's a starter. Trying to demote him to the bench is ridiculous.
 
206Fan said:
IT doesn't need to settle for a 6th man role. Anyone consistently bringing that is up being petty. Guy is averaging 29pts 6asts, and leading the NBA in 4th quarter points.

He is a top 5 PG. He's a top 5 MVP candidate. So for anyone to keep re-insisting that he should've "settled" as our 6th man here... guy had 20pts 6asts here as a King. He's a starter. Trying to demote him to the bench is ridiculous.
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With all that being said, teams have to ask themselves, in spite of his scoring and defense deficiencies, can you win more than just regular season games with him? Let's remember, the Suns gave up on him too.
 
jcwkings said:
When a player average almost 30 ppg, is a great leader and a great competitor its laughable to say "he needed to go". I don't care if he is a bad defender, he is a top end talent, something this team severely lacks outside of Cousins. The goal of any franchise is to get players the level of Cousins and IT and surround players around them that cover for their weaknesses. If you surround Cuz/IT with defenders you can alleviate some of their weaknesses. Cuz/IT combo would be deadly, both of them draw so many fouls, this team would live on the free throw line.
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living in hindsight sucks. It does nobody any good and all it does is drag a fanbase down IMO. It's fun to talk about while there is no games on though so I'll give you that.
 
peacelate said:
Has the notion that IT refused to be a 6th man ever been substantiated? I see this frequently regarding IT, but remember that he signed with the Suns to be the 6th man.
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I remember in a radio interview he said he didn't mind being sixth man but only if the starting pg was better than him.
 
Larry89 said:
pete-dalessandro_1du273dwophiz1h4d8u6t36szg.jpg


"I know what I'm doing"
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Full Quote
8c8355e1b3aa1fa5c0eff668734dfcc2.jpg


 
kingsboi said:
With all that being said, teams have to ask themselves, in spite of his scoring and defense deficiencies, can you win more than just regular season games with him? Let's remember, the Suns gave up on him too.
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Are you talking about MVP race?

You have to remember the Suns' situation though... they had Bledsoe-Dragic-IT. That was an ugly situation, and the Suns decided to just trade both those guys. IT was fantastic with the Suns.
 
206Fan said:
Are you talking about MVP race?

You have to remember the Suns' situation though... they had Bledsoe-Dragic-IT. That was an ugly situation, and the Suns decided to just trade both those guys. IT was fantastic with the Suns.
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Not necessarily the MVP race but more so about winning in the playoffs and not just the regular season. Goes to show you how the front office viewed IT in the same regards the Kings had, as a 6th man.
 
KingsCitizen said:
I got a name from Boston..... Brad Stevens. That's the real MVP.
IT is a fighter though. But if Stevens did not tame that roster to play not just for stats, everyone would be asking why IT is a ballhog.
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Underrated aspect in all of this.

Oh and IT dropped another 44pts 7 dimes and was clutch in the fourth again.:(
 
The guy left it all out on the floor. I loved that about him. So many people here bashed him. I was so upset when they let him walk. The guy wanted to be here. He was a great spokesperson too. Great commercials. He would have been very good for this city.
 
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KingsCitizen said:
I got a name from Boston..... Brad Stevens. That's the real MVP.
IT is a fighter though. But if Stevens did not tame that roster to play not just for stats, everyone would be asking why IT is a ballhog.
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How are you going to call IT a ballhog? wtf up with the passive-aggressive hating?

Cousins has a usage rate of 37%, why is no one calling him out for "ball hogging"? DeRozan is at 34.4%..I see no ball hogging. IT is at 34%.

Apparently, IT just can't win.

The last 5 games: 36pts 8asts 3rebs 1.3 stls on 53.7% FG, 42.3% 3pt, and 97.7% FT. 5WINS 0 LOSES.

lmao and what you take out of all of this is that IT is a ballhog. That's ridiculous. IT could go off for 50pts and 10asts, and people would still complain that he'd be better off on our bench for Collison..Why can't we just say that he's been amazing on his own? Discrediting him at each chance possible is extremely petty. Isaiah Thomas is playing amazing.

Stevens doesn't need to tame anything, they aren't playing for stats, because they're playing for wins. When's the last time you've seen ANY role players(teammates) complain about their star player(IT) carrying the team, while having a MVP year?

lol never seen a time where basketball players complained about a MVP candidate leading them to the playoffs. lol. ballhog....lol
 
44 points and 7 assists last night. He is averaging 29.9 points a game which is more than the team all-time record set my Larry Bird at 29.7 for a season.
IT is currently scoring more points in the fourth quarter than any player in history. He is followed closely by guys named LeBron, Kobe, and some guy named Russell.

To continue to talk about the sixth man role is to ignore the greatness that we gave away.
I was watching the WA vs USC game last night. Danny Ainge was there watching Markelle Fultz from DeMatha high school near where I grew up. Fultz leads the nation in scoring as a freshman. He will be headed to the NBA next year. It would be a dream to have Fultz and IT play together for the Celts. Fultz is 6'4" and blocked several shots last night on guys that were 6'7" and 6" 10".
 
ppine said:
44 points and 7 assists last night. He is averaging 29.9 points a game which is more than the team all-time record set my Larry Bird at 29.7 for a season.
IT is currently scoring more points in the fourth quarter than any player in history. He is followed closely by guys named LeBron, Kobe, and some guy named Russell.

To continue to talk about the sixth man role is to ignore the greatness that we gave away.
I was watching the WA vs USC game last night. Danny Ainge was there watching Markelle Fultz from DeMatha high school near where I grew up. Fultz leads the nation in scoring as a freshman. He will be headed to the NBA next year. It would be a dream to have Fultz and IT play together for the Celts. Fultz is 6'4" and blocked several shots last night on guys that were 6'7" and 6" 10".
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there is nobody else that can score and create on that team. put him on the cavs and will he get those numbers? how about the spurs? how about the dubs? get real dude
 
Two players with a high usage rate on the court at the same time will too a certain extent nullify each other.
 
ppine said:
44 points and 7 assists last night. He is averaging 29.9 points a game which is more than the team all-time record set my Larry Bird at 29.7 for a season.
IT is currently scoring more points in the fourth quarter than any player in history. He is followed closely by guys named LeBron, Kobe, and some guy named Russell.

To continue to talk about the sixth man role is to ignore the greatness that we gave away.
I was watching the WA vs USC game last night. Danny Ainge was there watching Markelle Fultz from DeMatha high school near where I grew up. Fultz leads the nation in scoring as a freshman. He will be headed to the NBA next year. It would be a dream to have Fultz and IT play together for the Celts. Fultz is 6'4" and blocked several shots last night on guys that were 6'7" and 6" 10".
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I saw that Ainge was there and it made me wonder if any Kings scouts were there too. I also saw that Washington lost to the better team. :) Fultz was really impressive of course but we're not getting a top 3 pick this year so I can't get too invested. I'm still hoping we stay in the 7-10 range and we have a shot at De'Aaron Fox or Frank Ntilikina. Actually, watching De'Anthony Melton continue to tear through the Pac 12 as a Freshman (he had 16 pts, 7 rebs, 6 asts, 6 stls, and 2 blks last night) had me daydreaming about a lineup with De'Aaron, De'Anthony, and DeMarcus playing together. We'd need two more "De'Players" to complete the "De'Set" but I'm already on board!
 
As good as Thomas is on offense, he has been just as atrocious on defense. That's the thing.

He has the 3rd best ORPM in the league at 5.94. Harden and Westbrook are the only two ahead of him. However his DRPM is -4.44. That gives him only a 1.5 RPM which is 15th among PGs who average 30+ min.

For a team like Boston who doesn't have anyone to carry the offensive load, yeah you start him. For a team who has others to carry the load, it's perfectly reasonable to have him come off the bench and match him up against bench players who won't be able to exploit him defensively. You know that thing of hiding your weaknesses and playing to your strengths? The game is won on both sides of the ball, but all the recognition, all the accolades, and all the glamour comes from being good at one end of the floor.

This doesn't make IT untalented. He's one of the best offensive players in the league! But he has his warts and those warts are on defense. If you can minimize the negative effect he brings defensively by allowing him to defend bench players for more minutes, it's going to make him more impactful.
 
jcwkings said:
One is a PG on is a C, thats about as ideal a star pairing as you would ever want.
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Cousins has a usage rate of 37% and IT has a usage rate of 34% Add them together and that means they have a combined usage rate of 71%. Perhaps I don't know what usage rate means which is entirely possible. Seems to me there is barely enough time for the other 3 players to touch the ball. If, though, it means both players need the ball in their hands a lot, the usage rate of each, along with other stats, will fall.
 
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