6.23.2020

IT Returns to Form

April 7, 2015

NEW YORK - Isaiah Thomas was rather tentative Wednesday in his first game back after missing eight with a badly bruised tailbone. But last night he responded to that four-point effort with a team-high
18 points in a 96-92 triumph over the Knicks.

The toughest hit he took may have been the short joke Marcus Smart sent his way.
"He had his legs back under him a little bit more," Smart said of the 5-foot-9 Thomas, who made 4-of-13 shots from the floor and 8-of-9 freebies. "His first game back, it was all new to him again.

Everything was short - no pun intended.

"Coming out here today and having a game like he did was big for this team."

Said Thomas, "The biggest thing for me was mentally. Today I just went in and if it hurt, it hurt. I wasn't scared of getting hit or falling. I just tried to play and it helped me." He appeared to signal his return when he banked in a first-quarter 3-pointer while being fouled.

"Nah, that was nasty," Thomas said with a smile. "That did not say I was back. Just being able to play a little faster and decisive tonight, that probably said I was back. "I felt a little quicker than I was the other night. I could move and do a few of the moves I like to do. Probably the biggest thing for me is getting my legs underneath me." His eyes were working, too. Thomas admitted to checking the out-of-town scores during the game to gauge the playoff race.

"In the game, they've got the scores up there, so I take a peek when I can," he said.

Fisher shows respect

Derek Fisher can't hide the fact that he appreciates how the Celtics have gathered themselves through numerous key changes in what is a rebuilding year to still make a run at the postseason.
But that feeling doesn't necessarily connect through some of his career wiring.

"I wish them a lot of luck, other than tonight," said the Knicks coach before tipoff.

Fisher then grinned and added, "I know that's hard to hear, coming from a former Laker, to wish the Celtics any luck at all. But I like Brad ( Stevens ), so I wish him good luck, and then he can spread it around to everybody else."

The Knicks are obviously in the midst of a hideous season, but the fact the Celts have been able to get their act reasonably together offers encouragement here.

"I think our situations are different in terms of the composition of their team and who they are and where they're trying to go," Fisher said. "(But) I think for our players, you always should look at other examples of other teams, other individuals, other groups that show a certain level of, you know, kind of stick-to-itiveness and not giving up on themselves or on the process because things don't maybe go well early or they're not going as well as they expected.

"And I think they've done a good job with their group considering all the changes. To still be in playoff contention, I think it says a lot about Brad and what he's doing with their team. "I think Brad has done a great job in his transition from being a college coach to an NBA coach and having a lot of question marks about how that transition would go."

Asked if he's tried to take anything from Stevens' style, Fisher said, "Yeah, just being quiet as much as possible." While Stevens arrived with collegiate questions, Fisher took the Knicks job this season with no bench experience on any level.

"That's totally different, and I'm sure it comes with its own set of challenges," Stevens said. "I do think that experience in this league is a huge, huge deal as you move into the coaching realm, just because I think it's so different. It's so different than coaching college.

"But I will say that he's done a really good job from everything I can tell, and I watch the execution, the way they're trying to do things offensively and defensively, how hard the guys are doing those within their schemes - and then obviously his demeanor and the way that he's gone about it in a tough situation. I think he's handled it great, but I'm sure there are challenges that I don't know about just being a first-time head coach and just being the first time on a bench as a coach."

Young: Maine man

James Young remains with the Celts' D-League affiliate, Maine, and there is no specific plan to bring him back to the NBA club just yet. "The plan is to just continue to get him opportunities," said Stevens, "whether those opportunities are in the D-League or, if we have a situation with injuries or he plays great and he works his way back into that rotation, here. But we want to make sure he's getting as many reps as possible."

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