How does Isaiah Thomas finish so well in the paint?

In my opinion Isaiah Thomas just played his best game as a Boston Celtic against the Los Angeles Clippers. I haven't seen a little man dominate a big man like he did DeAndre Jordan since David Spade took a 2x4 to Chris Farley outside of Prehistoric Forest. The performance has opponents, fans, and media all wondering how in the hell he finishes so well in the paint against big guys.

The man is 5'9" and takes it to the rim with no fear, and usually (as many C's fans can attest to) takes a beating that seldom draws the whistles he deserves. Here is his shot chart from that game, as tweeted out by Jay King.

He was 9/13 at the rim, and many of them were contested by the Clippers bigs, including DeAndre Jordan. Isaiah finished over, around, and through Jordan in so many different ways in the 4th quarter alone, that I could not believe what I was seeing out of him. Neither could DeAndre from the looks of it.

Without context, I can't be sure DeAndre wasn't speaking about Isaiah's 11-12 performance from the line, which must have been equally as awe inspiring to him as Isaiah's 9-13 in the paint. Jordan isn't the only big man who recently faced Thomas and came away impressed, as apparently Andre Drummond was left with a similar impression.

However he does it, it is a pleasure to watch. Seeing someone his size get into the paint and finish so consistently is so entertaining. It's also getting to the point where Isaiah is drawing so much attention in help defense that even what may be thought of as a "bad shot" to some still has a good chance of getting rebounded by an unmarked Celtic. In case you somehow still haven't seen what he did against the Clippers, our steady handed Mark Vandeusen put together a Vine of all of his finishes in the paint. Enjoy.





Photo Credit: David Butler II/USA Today Sports Images




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