The Celtics will be looking to extend their current win streak to three games tonight when the Nuggets come to town. The C’s have been playing much better over the last two weeks, and have won 5 of their last 6 games.
The Denver Nuggets are having themselves a magnificent season. They have the second best record in the Western Conference, which is 46-22. If I’m being honest, they may be one of the biggest surprises in the league this season. Last season they missed out on the playoffs on the final day of the season, and didn’t do much to their roster. Nikola Jokic has been a big part of this team’s success, as he’s having a career year. The Joker leads the Nuggets in points, rebounds and assists. Denver has been playing pretty solid basketball lately, they’ve won their last 3 games.
The Celtics will be looking to end that winning streak tonight at the Garden. With a win tonight, they could potentially climb up into the fourth spot in the East. The Pacers are playing the Trailblazers later on tonight, which is a game that could go either way. Home court is going to be important once the playoffs come around, especially with the Celtics trying to win a title this year. A first round exit because of low seeding would be less than ideal.
The most important part about tonight’s game for myself and probably many other fans is the return of Isaiah Thomas. IT hasn’t actually played against the Celtics since being traded almost two years ago. That trend could continue tonight, seeing how Mike Malone has an eight man rotation that he’s planning on sticking with for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, Isaiah isn’t part of that group.
Since returning from his hip injury, he just hasn’t been the same player. In his 9 appearances for Denver this season he’s averaging just 8 ppg on 37% from the field. It wasn’t always bad, in his second game back Isaiah scored 16 points off the bench to help the Nuggets beat the Mavs. Thomas hasn’t played in any of the last three games for the Nuggets, and had been struggling in the prior games. In those games he shot a combined 7-22 and 1-8 from deep.
It was just a bad time for Isaiah to recover from injury. The Nuggets have over-performed this season, and want to continue with their current group of guys. They’re gearing up for the playoffs right now, and don’t have the time for or interest in letting him slowly get back up to speed. It didn’t help that he’s struggled since returning. It’s a lot of pressure for someone coming off a big injury like Isaiah had.
His exit from the Celtics was one that fans weren’t entirely happy with at the time because of how well liked he was here. Since then us fans have always been pulling for him to return to his top form. I can’t wait for him to get his standing ovation tonight at the Garden, and hopefully get some time in the game.
While he was here, he left some great memories. There was the first game that he played against the Lakers where he got ejected, the 52 point game against the Heat, the 53 point game against the Wizards, and many more. In two and a half years, he became one of the great Celtics of all time. His attitude was similar to those of the all time greats to ever wear green.
His first season was special to me because it was one that the Celtics were supposed to be a bottom feeding team that was tanking for a high pick. He got traded here halfway through, and made that team fun to watch. They eventually got swept in the first round by the Cavs, but making the playoffs felt like enough of an accomplishment for that season.
The next year was one with a bit higher of expectations, but nothing too crazy. The C’s were expected to make the playoffs again and really not much else. Isaiah had himself another solid year, earning his first all star appearance. During All Star Weekend, he even helped to build the team that we have today, recruiting Al Horford to come join the C’s in the next summer. Ironically enough, it was Horford’s Hawks that ultimately did the Celtics in. They didn’t go down without a fight, winning two games that series behind Isaiah’s heroics. He scored 43 in game 3, and made the game tying layup in game 4 to send it to overtime.
His last season as a Celtic was definitely the most special. Isaiah was unreal in the 16-17 season, averaging just under 29 ppg. This was the year that he really created all kinds of memories for himself and us fans. The first was his first 50 point game, which came against the Heat. This was really the beginning of the whole “King of the Fourth” title. Isaiah scored 29 points in the fourth quarter to give the C’s the win. IT was once again an all star, and was even a top 5 MVP candidate. His performance in the playoffs was something special. Just before they started, Isaiah’s sister passed away in a car accident. He played the next day in game 1 against the Bulls. After advancing past Chicago, the Celtics had the Wizards in the second round. Isaiah scored 53 points in an epic game 2 performance on his sister’s birthday. The Celtics once again advanced, but Isaiah’s season ended early as he couldn’t play past game 2 of the Cleveland series because of his hip injury.
Even though things aren’t so great right now, there’s plenty of time for him to recover. Next season may be the year where he’s back to full strength and is able to play at a high level once again.
There’s a lot of talk of him being able to come back to the Celtics next season. Terry Rozier’s contract is expiring this summer, and teams will likely be willing to pay more than the Celtics will for his services. That would leave an open spot for Isaiah to return as the backup to Kyrie. He’s talked about wanting to come back and play in Boston just about ever since he was traded. This would be a pretty great scenario for it to happen.
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