How does Isiah Thomas do what he do at 5'9"?

[oarabbus]

Word on the street is he's actually 5'8" and change... guys like Patrick Beverly who look small on the court are a solid 4"+ taller than him. And most impressively while he is a defensive liability due to his height, he manages not to be so much of a liability that he can't offset it on the other side. How does he do it ISH?

[I<3NBA]

he sucks *** so he doesn't have to take it up in the a$$

i thought this was common knowledge OP

[TripleA]

He has a extremy strong core and lower body. Its allows him to get in the lane and finish despite heavy contact. He also quick as hell so he get around the court. Solid shooter too and he has great coordination and a soft touch.

That's Main difference between him and Nate Robinson is that he has knows we're to go on the court and has great instincts.

[FreezingTsmoove]

Hes strong as ****, really great athleticism, and most importantly QUICK AND FEARLESS

theres really no difference between him and Shane Larkin physically or athletically except for the fact that IT doesnt play like a *****

He is a league leader in drives per game, and shoots the 3 very well

Watch a celtics game this dude is taking it to the paint almost every time he gets the ball

[midatlantic09]

OP, size isn't all that necessary in basketball (at least not on offense) if you're extremely quick, have a great handle, can shoot, have a strong core, and can jump out the gym. Thomas has all of those and therefore can do what he does somewhat easily.

[jdm_dc_fan]

IT is having a career year because Boston is a great fit. Avery, smart and crowder pick up the slack defensively on the perimeter. He also has really good ball instincts. He may not be a good man defender but very good help defender and quick in the passing lanes. In today's game his size doesn't affect him on offense because of the hand check rule and the guard being untouchable in general. And like others have already posted he's strong, agile, quick, explosive, good ball handler, good finisher, fearless, not scared of being the go to finisher and a good shooter.

[Cocaine80s]

Slightly over 5'10 in shoes and an above average wingspan for his height

Plus he has a 40 inch vert

[Bless Mathews]

Cuz he's from t town. The 253.

We just fOnkier up here.

All there is to it. Been tryin to tell y'all.

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Checking strong, insanely quick, midgets is a pain in the ass. I've seen it many times in college where some 5 something guy rips apart a future NBA player. The reason most don't make it in the NBA is because they have too many problems defensively. But the talented offensive ones out of the league could definitely put up numbers.

On one of the Open Courts someone said Muggsy Bogues was one of the best defenders they faced. Random but you reminded me of it.

[JGXEN]

he sucks *** so he doesn't have to take it up in the a$$

i thought this was common knowledge OP
:biggums: :biggums: :biggums:

[buddha]

IT is having a career year because Boston is a great fit. Avery, smart and crowder pick up the slack defensively on the perimeter. He also has really good ball instincts. He may not be a good man defender but very good help defender and quick in the passing lanes. In today's game his size doesn't affect him on offense because of the hand check rule and the guard being untouchable in general. And like others have already posted he's strong, agile, quick, explosive, good ball handler, good finisher, fearless, not scared of being the go to finisher and a good shooter.

career year? he's not doing anything he didn't do in Sacramento...

I have no idea why he signed with Phoenix to be a backup. he's always been a starter. People thought his 20ppg was fluky but I watched alot of those games and he was everything you have said.

[theaussieguy]

Slightly over 5'10 in shoes and an above average wingspan for his height

Plus he has a 40 inch vert
Westbrook hates him

[ClipperRevival]

It's truly amazing that a guy this small can have such success at the NBA level. But guys this small are usually super quick and IT is no exception. Quickness kills in basketball.

Also, guys this small need to have incredible self confidence in their game and that has to show on the court. Confidence matters in basketball.

And finally, just game. He has an ability to get his shots off in the paint. Some of it is just God given.

[feyki]

Cause 40 inches vertical.

[jongib369]

Godly measurements just like mine, plus extremely quick, and strong. He used to focus mostly on bench, squat etc... But now he's also focusing on the smaller muscles, like in his core.

[Derka]

I don't like his tendency to go Hero Ball in close games. Fact is he's not a good enough decision maker or clutch shot maker to be that guy yet. Also, He also doesn't move his feet enough on defense for my liking; he's prone to reaching when his man starts to make a move to the hoop, which I don't like. He's quick enough to move his feet and beat his man to the spot properly more consistently than he does.

With Marcus Smart injured, he's seeing a serious uptick in his minutes and the impact on his jumper is noticeable. He's getting gassed right now so hopefully he improves his conditioning some.

Otherwise, solid pickup. His and Jae Crowder's impact on our team since the trading deadline can't be emphasized enough.

[Thorpesaurous]

As a Celtic fan, I have to agree with Derka that he's flawed to the point of it probably being fatal for a title contender, but he's a great bench sparkplug, because he is completely fearless, and could absolutely be that dude on a title team.

I think the gameplay difference between him and other smaller guys is that he doesn't play straight ahead at all. He's loaded with back steps and euro steps and all sorts of funky releases and English off the backboard that allow him to finish more than most guys his size.

[HylianNightmare]

I don't think he gets enough recognition for being a great under 6 footer

[JonatanRey]

I think his role right now doesn't match his abilites.

He is a PERFECT sixth man for a championship team, one of the best scorers in the league and can heat a game in a second. If a team like OKC weren't so stupid to pay that much to Kanter and Ibaka, they would very well split the money between Isaiah and a legit C.

Boston have some really interesting assets that could be used to build a pretty interesting team, especially improving that frontcourt, and give IT a role that suits him more.

[HighFlyer23]

He black