It's time to join in the MVP chants for Isaiah Thomas
It's been an unreal season for Isaiah Thomas.
The king in the fourth, as he's affectionately called, continues to blow the minds of the fans, media, and players alike with regular dominance night in and night out.
During the Celtics' nationally televised tilt with the Los Angeles Lakers, the play-by-play and color commentary repetitively teased the fourth quarter and the impending devastation Isaiah was going to enact on the Lakers defenders. And then he did.
I'm confident all of you readers already know this. It's not new to Celtics fans that the little guy is crushing the competition, carrying the C's from game to game, and earning louder and louder MVP chants in the TD Garden as his unparalleled season continues. What's new is that the league might be starting to agree with those once delusional fans:
It's time EVERYBODY gets on the Isaiah Thomas for MVP train pic.twitter.com/T2UdaYJTFc— The Celtics on CSN (@CelticsCSN) February 4, 2017
Sure, that's a hometown Twitter, but his numbers are incredible:
The Celtics are 19-6 (t-2nd in NBA) since Isaiah Thomas came back from groin injury ... IT leads NBA in scoring over that span #CSNstats pic.twitter.com/Ui3XseQW2w— The Celtics on CSN (@CelticsCSN) February 4, 2017
The declared front-runners for the MVP award are Russell Westbrook (who's still averaging a triple-double) and James Harden, who's seemingly willed the Rockets to their best start in years. But MVP ladders show Isaiah climbing the ranks, and sitting one spot ahead of reigning MVP Steph Curry.
Analysts agree, and some argue he's still not getting the recognition he deserves. The all-knowing Adrian Wojnarowski argues in a video essay this is the latest chapter of doubting the king in the fourth:
Doubting Isaiah Thomas. @WojVerticalNBA video essay. pic.twitter.com/od7C57O586
— The Vertical (@TheVertical) February 4, 2017
At this point no one can really argue that he doesn't deserve a spot in the conversation. The Celtics have climbed to second in the Eastern conference on the shoulders of Isaiah, and he's been putting up unprecedented stats to get there.
Isaiah Thomas now averaging 10.7 points per game in the fourth quarter. Set to obliterate Kobe Bryant’s previous record of 9.5.
— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) February 4, 2017
So what will it take to get the rest of the league on the IT4MVP bandwagon? More of the same.
ESPN's Scott Van Pelt says it best:
Enjoy the show, make sure you stay until the end, cause that's when it gets really good.
And with the rate he's at, it doesn't look like there's any sign of him slowing down.
Follow Topher Lane on Twitter, @Topher_L. Photo credit: Barry Chin/Boston Globe.