IT will NOT Play vs Boston

Interesting decision. I guess they'd rather him play a non-conference opponent?


KJ

They are probably a little afraid of an adreninline overdrive ! You know he would play so hard that it would not work to his benefit. I personally think this is a wise decision. Let him get his accolades from the crowd that he so rightfully deserves. It might soften the blow a little for him. Once he is truly back on his feet and strong, he will play the next game against the Celtics, probably in Cleveland, and put on a show.

This is too bad that things ended this way, he played his heart out for us. However, the story out there that he did not get a second opinion is wrong. He flew back to Tacoma and saw a dr out there and I think he saw a dr in NY. Danny is taking the heat on this and it is not right.

I hope he gets his contract, plays hard and shows the world what a terrific ballplayer he is. I believe he will succeed as he is driven by all of the things that have happened to him to get him to this point. He really did get a favor from DA, he could have ended up somewhere awful and really been ticked off. At least he is on a team that may fight to go to the finals.

Good luck IT, but it had to happen. I loved your game, but, man, can Kyrie Irving play ball!!!!

k_j_88 wrote:Interesting decision. I guess they'd rather him play a non-conference opponent?


KJ

This was my reaction too. It seems a bit odd considering Boston is their biggest threat. They are probably scared of how it would look if they lose with Isaiah. I'm trying to make sense of it, but it seems cowardly like Jae's dirty foul on Hayward.

So Isaiah is finally ready, but they will bump him up a game to avoid Boston. What else could this mean?

I think Stevens does the opposite with Morris with his game restrictions. He'll have him miss the first of a back to back to play against the better opponent.

Rosalie hit the nail on the head for me. Sometimes you need to protect a player from himself, and IT will most certainly overexert himself in his first game back in Boston. So why not make that the February 11th visit when he is further down the road to recovery?

No need to play him against Boston this week and contrary to Phil's feelings- there is nothing cowardly about IT and the Cavs taking it slow.

Wise move by Lue.

mrkleen09 wrote:Rosalie hit the nail on the head for me.  Sometimes you need to protect a player from himself, and IT will most certainly overexert himself in his first game back in Boston.  So why not make that the February 11th visit when he is further down the road to recovery?

No need to play him against Boston this week and contrary to Phil's feelings- there is nothing cowardly about IT and the Cavs taking it slow.

Ditto

Tonight IT already has 8 points in 6 minutes against the Blazers.

fierce wrote:Tonight IT already has 8 points in 6 minutes against the Blazers.

He didn’t look very rusty. Wishing him all the best, except against Boston of course.

bobc33 wrote:

fierce wrote:Tonight IT already has 8 points in 6 minutes against the Blazers.

He didn’t look very rusty.  Wishing him all the best, except against Boston of course.

What a series it would be if the Celts and Cavs face each other in the playoffs.

19 minutes , 16 points, 3 assists. not a bad debut. he`s going , assuming he stays healthy , to lift the Cavs to another level. He and rejuvenated DWade  lead a suddenly formidable Cleveland bench.

Shit man IT looks great, 16 points in 19 minutes and soo much less pressure on him to do everything, he’s gonna really help them, he’s not forcing anything and finding ways to score so easily.

Good for IT. I love the guy. Bad for us in playoff time. Unless he has to guard Kyrie.

IT had a good first game back. But it was Portland. They aren't a good team. Let's see how the Cavs mask him on defense against the better teams.


KJ

I think too much is made of IT being a defensive liability.

When you put him on the floor with as many as 4 solid defenders, as Cleveland can, his contributions on offense more than make up for his deficiencies on defense. It's not like he's just a matador out there either.

A healthy IT makes Cleveland a stronger team.

Portland is 19-18 in the western conference. They are better than most of the teams in the east anybody who wasn`t impressed by how IT  played , after so lengthy a layoff, should quit watching basketball. the question is whether he will remain healthy.

So they were protecting Isaiah from himself? Perhaps. However, it seems to have backfired based on the Portland game. He could have given them a big lift tonight.

Imagine Cleveland beating Boston with Isaiah chipping in seventeen points in 19 minutes. They would have loved that for psychology and probably would have won the Portland game anyway.

It's to be seen whether Isaiah on Cleveland hurts their defense. I'm sure in spots it will. Isaiah at pg with Lebron, Crowder and Love for the front court will become tiny ball. But they also have Thompson back.

The Celtics seem to match up very well with Cleveland and only have the older brother problem. How does the younger brother finally overtake the older? Until the C's pass Cleveland, it will remain the opinion of many that James is our daddy. Think Pedro Martinez and the New York Yankees.

The Celtics have a bunch of guys who could contain LeBron for as much as that is possible. A guy like Larkin might be thrown in for stints to cover Isaiah. Maybe the best way to contain I.T. is to have a little guy who can stick his chest into him a bit. I could see I.T. abusing Kyrie, although the opposite perspective could end up more likely. Kyrie will torch I.T..

It gets even more interesting when one considers LeBron could bolt next year. Boston was always deep and comfy in LeBron's head until he bolted to Miami. That would be pretty funny to see history repeat itself. If the C's are healthy and clicking at the right time and all of a sudden LeBron feels Cleveland's title odds have tapped out, he could quit again and try to form one more superteam in order to ring chase.

LeBron's internal battle is to win more titles. I'm referring to the not one, not two, not three bit he went on about for The Decision. LeBron has a very mediocre Finals record. He is not as inept as the Buffalo Bills were for lovable loser teams because of the Miami years and one ring in Cleveland, but that kind of legacy is potentially in play.

Instead of wondering where LeBron fits into greatest players of all time lists, it might be why did he fall short so often in playoffs if he's such a bag of chips and all that.

I loved the guy, there is no denying that. I just am tiring of all the stories everywhere about this trade, he is on an Eastern Division championship team, has a chance to play with LeBron, and gets a REAL chance to head to the finals with this new team. How many more times are we going to have to read, see, hear, about how the Celtics did him wrong. They did not send him to Sacramento, or some other God forsaken place, they sent him to Cleveland.

Is the chance of a brinks truck backing up to the Cav's door. Maybe, maybe not. If he plays the way he played last year, I give him a good shot at it. But this retoric is getting tiring. Now the video ordeal. Throw it away, Celtics, forget it. Do not I repeat, do not, play it during the night of Paul Pierce's number raising. This is Paul's night. He earned it. IT, it doesn't sound like you really want this anyway, so forgo it.

We no sooner get thru reading about IT's hurt feelings then Jae Crowder says he deserves a huge round of applause, bigger than they gave Gordon Hayward last year!!!

My point is, this is all foolishness. Time to grow up all of you. Like I said, I loved the kid, but --iit happens. Big money makes for big changes. Okay, that is my two cents. I won't bring it up again!!!!!!!!!!!!

I 100% agree with Rosalie. The only reason I don't gripe about it is because his sister died. It's tough to go after him no matter what.

If LeBron quits like the baby he has been in the past and leaves Cleveland after gutting them as de facto GM, the Cavs might want to give I.T. a big contract, maybe not the maximum, but $25 million should appease the respect issue.

Thomas should have kept his mouth shut about the Brinks' Truck. It was still funny maybe the second time, but he should have stopped.

The pointing towards his wrist for fourth quarter "I.T. Time" never felt right. It seemed antithetical to Celtics Tradition. Kyrie calls it winning time. And oh my, look at how Jae Crowder has gone from lovable underdog to pompous fool in just a year or two. He overreacted to some fans cheering on Hayward despite him and Brad having a connection. I wouldn't have cheered Hayward, but Crowder needed to be more professional. He got into it with fans on Twitter.

Isaiah did that a day or two ago. He trolled back an apparent Boston fan.

I think Crowder was responsible for Hayward's injury. It wasn't intentional to shatter his leg/ankle, but I'm sure D-Wade wasn't trying to tear off Rondo's arm back in the day but it happened.

I thought Crowder had great potential until last year. He was a bit like Sully, just relying on talent and not working to improve like Bradley did each year. Horford has improved in a number of areas since coming to Boston. Kyrie must notice these things and this is a great time to be a Celtics fan, win or lose. Danny has truly carried on the Auerbach legacy. 2008 was nice, but Danny has gone well beyond that. Kudos to the whole team, all players, the coaching and management, even the goofy owners.

Oh, one more point. Isaiah got cozy to the flashy boxer and I think Mayweather had a bad influence on him. Bird and KG were obnoxious for confidence, but they had an inner drive and the ring or rings to back it up. I wish Isaiah the best, but he may have a few character flaws that will prevent him from a better legacy.

I love him, nonetheless. I sort of hate Jae Crowder. But I feel bad for Isaiah because the Celtics are very stacked and he led up to this. The I.T. Boston years meant a lot, sort of similar to Dan Duquette/Lou Gorman setting up the Red Sox but getting none of the glory. If the Celtics become the Beatles, I.T. and Crowder become Peter Best.

But Rosalie is correct. Danny didn't trade him to NBA Siberia. He and LeBron might produce a miracle and win it all, then he's paid. Or LeBron could leave freeing up big bucks anyway for I.T. if he nails the comeback. Cleveland might worry about selling tickets. If Isaiah is the same guy from last year, he will get big money. If Smart is worth $12 million, I'd say a healthy Thomas is worth double that.

I for one would be surprised if Cleveland offers IT the kind of contract he is looking for. As it stands, the Cavs are paying over $137 million in team payroll. IT is going to want at least $30 million because he sees himself in the same category as other players making that kind of money. What happens if the Cavs don't offer him the money he wants? Chances are, he'll bolt for another team to make the money he wants.

This is the realism behind Danny's trade. Not only did Ainge not see the value in paying IT that kind of money, IT could have left and the C's would've ended up without compensation. The Kyrie-IT trade was pure genius, and impeccably timed.

As Rosalie mentioned, he's on a team with Lebron where he can compete, not a lottery team where he has no hope of contention.



KJ

Tonight they interviewed him and he wass all smiles. Said Danny texted him last night and all was okay now, buried the hatchet????
Oh well, let's move on to the game and get this going!!!!

I find the calls for Thomas to "grow up" borderline hilarious. I'm pretty sure he proved he was grown up when he scored 50 plus points a couple days after his sister died. Loving Danny Ainge is not the standard for being a grownup.Maybe on message boards.

Pointing to his wrist is antithetical to Celtic tradition. Ummm, Larry Bird is generally acknowledged as the trashtalker of all time. Bill Russell told the post-game press that Wilt Chamberlain didn't come back into a finals 7th game because "he didn't want to play anymore". How is brazen self -confidence not a Celtic tradition? Was it some other team whose coach lit a celebratiry cigar when his team had a seemingly insurmountable lead?

"I find the calls for Thomas to "grow up" borderline hilarious."

Who said this? I missed it.

Pointing to his wrist is antithetical to Celtic tradition. Ummm, Larry Bird is generally acknowledged as the trashtalker of all time. Bill Russell told the post-game press that Wilt Chamberlain didn't come back into a finals 7th game because "he didn't want to play anymore". How is brazen self -confidence not a Celtic tradition? Was it some other team whose coach lit a celebratiry cigar when his team had a seemingly insurmountable lead?

This one is clearly directed to myself. Isaiah Thomas was saying this is Isaiah Thomas time, not Celtics time or Kyrie's winning time.

Of course Larry Bird was confident. He was a total trash talker in the Muhammad Ali I will say it and prove it kind of way.

Moses Malone said he could take four guys off the street in Philly and beat the Celtics. At the parade, Larry said he could eat shit. It seems that someone has put words in my mouth and distorted my points. If true, that is lame and makes me wonder why even bother.

It wasn't you who said he should grow up, so your response is, if anything , overly sensitive on that score. Sorry that Isiaih pointing to his wrist and leading the league in 4th quarter scoring didn't meet your standards for Celtic behavior. I guess you would really have been upset when Bird ,out of boredom, took every shot in a game left handed. Bother or not. That's up to you, please point out what I "distorted." Or not.