Isaiah Thomas Deserves More Respect

Isaiah Thomas is having his best season as a pro for the Boston Celtics, but is not projected to make the 2016 NBA All-Star game.

Not many point guards in the NBA are having a better season than Isaiah Thomas for the Boston Celtics. Thomas is averaging 21.8 PPG on the season (fourth in the NBA among point guards), 6.6 APG (eighth in NBA among point guards), and he is shooting 89.7 percent from the free-throw line (third in the NBA among point guards).

Thomas has been Boston’s leading scorer for the entire season, and he has transitioned quite nicely into the starting lineup for the team. He is also fifth in player efficiency rating among all point guards in the league (22.13). When Thomas is on the floor, Boston scores 105 points per 100 possessions, and 94.5 per 100 possessions when he is off the floor, which shows how important Thomas is to the team and offense.

Thomas has most recently been known as a sixth man, but this season due to injuries, Thomas got the chance to start for the Celtics, and he has not disappointed. Thomas has started in 39 out of 42 games this season, and the Celtics are 22-20 on the season (the Celtics have won 21 games with Thomas in the starting lineup).

He has been the closest thing the Celtics have to a star on the team, and he is only 5-foot-9. Thomas does not get that much love from some people around the league because of his height, but players like Paul George, George Hill, and Derrick Rose all think he is an all-star, according to Thomas.

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It is time for everyone to acknowledge that Thomas is an all-star point guard, despite being short and not particularly good on defense.

Thomas Always Finds A Way

Yes, there are times where Isaiah Thomas has a tough night shooting from the field, but he still finds a way to score in a variety of crafty ways, even if his jumpshot is off. He has not been shooting particularly well from deep this year (34 percent) or from the field (42.2 percent), but he still finds a way score the basketball. Thomas is by far the best scorer on the Celtics, but he is also the best distributor. He realizes how important it is to get some of his teammates going, which is why he is averaging 6.6 APG (career-high).

All-Star voting ended on January 18, and when the last round of fan voting was casted, Thomas was No. 9, which would not put him in the game. Derrick Rose is having one of the worst seasons of his career and Kyrie Irving has only played in 13 games, but they are both ahead of Thomas.

Thomas is criticized a lot for his height, but that has been something he has dealt with his whole career and even in college at the University of Washington. It is time to give Thomas a shot at the All-Star game because he has been playing outstanding this season, and because he is simply an entertaining player to watch. He can pull up from three in transition or he can attack the rim at will against players that are twice his size; he simply has no fear on the offensive end.

Isaiah Thomas deserves to be in the all-star game, and it should not be a debate.