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Isaiah Thomas will get what he wants, to be out on the court for the opening tip ...at least one time this preseason.
Due to a few guys being sick or hurt or getting rest, the Celtics will be undermanned in the backcourt tonight.
#celtics HC Brad Stevens said Avery Bradley (rest) likely to join Terry Rozier (knee) and Marcus Smart (illness) in not playing vs #Nets.
— A. Sherrod Blakely (@SherrodbCSN) October 13, 2015
Stevens himself admitted that Thomas would likely get the nod.
Thomas Likely To Receive First Start Wed. Night | Boston Celtics
"I'll probably just start Isaiah, and maybe start Evan (Turner) with him," Brad Stevens revealed Tuesday morning.
...The absence of those three players has opened the door for Stevens to get a clear look at the Thomas-Turner combo. Interestingly enough, it was one of Boston’s top two-man lineups a season ago. The duo paired up for an average of 12.4 minutes per game during their 21 regular season games together. During those minutes, the Celtics outscored their opponents by an average of 3.1 points. That number ranked ninth on the team among two-man lineups that were featured in at least five games after the trade deadline.
If you care about such things, Thomas was the top ranked player in ESPN's #NBARank.
Isaiah Thomas Tops ESPN #NBARank for Celtics - CelticsHub | CelticsHub
Isaiah Thomas topped out the team rankings at No. 65, with Marcus Smart being the only other roster player to crack the top 100 in his second season.
I'm sure Isaiah will enjoy his start. I'm equally sure that he'll be fielding a new barrage of "do you still want to start?" questions that he'll have to word carefully to avoid headlines from blogs like this one questioning if he's still happy enough playing in a 6th man role. So far I've enjoyed his frankness and his team-first approach. That could always change if the team struggles, but then again, if the team struggles, a change of strategy might be in order anyway. So we'll see how things go.