Isaiah's 32-game streak of leading the team in scoring (kind of) ended last night


For 32 consecutive games prior to Friday's matchup with the Brooklyn Nets, Isaiah Thomas had finished with the most points on the Celtics. Although this is somewhat expected from the league's second best scorer, the streak still put him in elite company:



Of course, he very well may have been Boston's top scorer again last night if he weren't held out of this weekend's games with a bruised knee. So technically, his streak is broken. But in reality, we could carry it over to when he returns to action.

This is an awfully impressive mark for the 5'9" point guard. Considering that the only two players who have achieved this go by the names of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, it is kind of surreal. Despite this honor for Isaiah, I question what it means for the Celtics as a whole.

While this streak displays Isaiah's strong scoring skills, does it also reveal that the Celtics have been relying on him too heavily? Leading the team in scoring for 32 games in a row may be a bad sign for the team because if IT4 has an off night, can the team make up the scoring?

Even though I believe the answer to this question is yes, I am still a little skeptical of what the streak may indicate. Isaiah is a very capable passer if teams manage to lock down his scoring, and Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, or Al Horford could step up in the scoring department, but I would prefer to not rely as heavily on a player as Boston has on Isaiah this season.

The final thing I want to mention is the silver lining of Isaiah's bruised knee. Not only does it give Isaiah some rest during some winnable games, but it also provides Bradley, Crowder, and Horford with an opportunity to practice carrying the scoring load. That's exactly what they did on Friday when Crowder had a team-high 24 points and the other two had the next highest point totals.



Follow Erik Johnson on Twitter: @erikjohnson32

Photo by AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson