Isaiah Thomas is putting up superstar numbers



Many Celtics fans predicted before the year that Isaiah Thomas would make his first All-Star team. A little more than a month in, those predictions appear to be spot on.

Via ESPN's Chris Forsberg, Isaiah finds himself in elite company right now:
Thomas ranks eighth in the NBA averaging 32.3 points per 48 minutes. The only players ahead of him? Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Paul George, Blake Griffin, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That group features the top five players in MVP voting last season (Griffin was ninth, and George has been spectacular this season while coming back from a gruesome leg injury). Of that group, only Westbrook is averaging more assists than Thomas per 48 minutes.

In the Celtics' 114-97 win against the Kings Thursday night in Mexico City, Isaiah became the first player in the NBA this season to record 21 points, nine assists, six rebounds, four steals, and less than two turnovers in a game:

His impressive streak continued Saturday night in San Antonio when he dropped 23 points and dished eight assists in the C's narrow loss against arguably the second best team in the NBA.

Along with the damage he's done with the ball in his hands, Isaiah has also made improvements this year at the defensive end of the floor, as Brad Stevens notes:
"He’s done a good job of obviously scoring the ball, but he also can create for our team," Stevens said. "And we need him to continue to defend at the level he’s capable of because he’s really had a good impact on that end too."

Thomas is averaging 1.7 steals per game after averaging just 0.6 during his stint in Boston last year.


Follow Jack Bardsley on Twitter @BostonsBigFour

Photo via Boston Globe