Getty Ex-Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas.
It’s always cool to hear from familiar faces from time to time. Especially if those familiar faces were previously fan favorites of the Boston Celtics. In this case, that familiar face would be former MVP candidate Isaiah Thomas. Isaiah Thomas has recently been in touch with the Celtics in the past few days, having congratulated his former teammate Marcus Smart on winning Defensive Player of the Year. Only a couple of days later, he’s been talking about a topic related to the Celtics, but not directly about them. Rather, he’s been talking about their opponent.
With Ben Simmons slated to debut for the Brooklyn Nets in Game 4 against the Celtics, many have speculated what his role is going to be. Because of Ben’s reputation as a defender and passer, many have compared Simmons’ role with the Nets to Draymond Green’s role with the Golden State Warriors. Thomas went on the record saying that putting Simmons in that role is not that simple.
I’m excited 2 see what Ben Simmons brings 2 the Nets. I keep hearing “He’s going to play the Draymond role” like has he ever played that role? Do we know if he’s even good at that role? Let’s not just throw around “Draymond role” like that’s something simple!! If it was simple…
Thomas has a good point here. Draymond Green is one of the most unique NBA players we’ve seen in the 21st century. To expect anyone to come in and do exactly what he does on the basketball court not only has high expectations but very specific ones on top of that. The similarities are there between Green and Simmons, but to expect the latter to fit seamlessly into that role when he played a much different one in Philadelphia is not much different from asking a leopard to change its spots.
Even harder, no one knows how physically capable Simmons will be when he takes the floor.
Isaiah Thomas Also Weighs in on the Nets’ Offensive Struggles
Since this series started, much attention has been given to how the Celtics have stifled the Nets’, primarily Kevin Durant. Outside of the fourth quarter of Game 1 where he was sizzling hot, they’ve also pretty much stifled Kyrie Irving as well. Those two don’t run the Nets’ offense. They are the Nets’ offense. If one of them has a bad game, they’re in trouble. If both of them are having a bad game, then it’s game over.
While many are singling out the Celtics’ defensive personnel and gameplan for how they currently lead this series 2-0, Isaiah Thomas offered his own insight on how Brooklyn’s ISO-heavy offense is playing right into Boston’s hands.
With a GREAT defense it’s easy to CONTAIN iso ball. If they had ball movement & some misdirection action 4 those 2 players then it’ll be tougher 4 Celtics to slow them down. All they do is ISO so even if you make shots the defense is living with the results.
Thomas again makes a solid point that if Brooklyn moved the ball a bit more, their offense would be a bit more dynamic which would make them tougher to stop. The problem is, their two best players, while being solid playmakers, always look to score first when the ball is in their hands. Because their mindset is to score first, the Celtics are throwing doubles at Durant and Irving while bodying them up as much as possible so that they never get comfortable when trying to do so.
More importantly, it’s not like Goran Dragic, Bruce Brown, and Seth Curry have done absolutely nothing in this series. They’ve put up acceptable scoring numbers thus far with the roles they have. The problem is, the Celtics will live with those guys putting points on the board because they know they won’t make Boston pay as much as Durant and Irving can when they’re on their A-game.
People can blame Steve Nash all they want for Brooklyn’s issues offensively, but it’s hard to see what adjustments he can make to get Brooklyn back into this series.
Ben Simmons’ Return Feels Like a Desperation Move
No one blames the Nets for trying to get Ben Simmons back on the court. His size, defense, and passing could very well be a gamechanger for this series. The problem is, that is all on paper, and Simmons will be playing a much different role in Brooklyn from the one he played in Philadelphia. That’s not something a guy just slides into like a pair of slippers.
What makes it tougher to gauge what Simmons will bring is that he hasn’t played a single minute this season and will be thrown to the wolves right away when he makes his debut in the postseason. That’s a lot to ask out of someone who’s been on the shelf all season with little familiarity with his new team.
Not to mention, the Celtics tried something like this not too long ago. Fans would like to forget about this, but back in the 2019 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Boston activated Marcus Smart, who, until then, had been recovering from an oblique injury he suffered a few weeks prior. The Celtics did this because they were down 3-1 and looking for any sort of boost, so they looked to Smart. Needless to say, it did not work.
Not only did Boston lose both the game and the series, but Smart was clearly still hobbled by the injury. It was an earnest attempt by Smart to help his team out, but they were already self-detonating so he wasn’t going to help whether he was injured or not.
It could be different with Simmons, but there are too many factors at play to think that bringing him back is a no-brainer.