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2015 Awards Series Sixth Man of the Year: Isaiah Thomas

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It’s awards season at Celtics.com. We’re handing out seven awards over the couple of weeks as we roll through this year’s Celtics.com Awards Series. We may not have trophies or acceptance speeches, but we do have some top-flight Celtics performances to outline. Here we go...

BOSTON - Well, this one won’t shock anyone.

We outlined way back on April 15 that Isaiah Thomas should have been the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. As much of a slam dunk case that was, this one is even easier. Thomas is unquestionably Boston’s Sixth Man of the Year.

The Celtics season really started when they acquired Thomas from the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 19. The team surged to the finish line, going 20-10 over its final 30 games, thanks in large part to his presence.

Thomas, all 5-foot-9 of him, was an elite scorer during his 21 regular-season games with Boston. He averaged 19.0 points per game during those contests, leaving any and all competition in the dust. Avery Bradley, a starter, was the team’s next-best scorer with an average of 14.8 PPG. The next-best scoring average by a reserve? That would be Jae Crowder’s 11.7 PPG. As we said, not even close. Thomas also added 5.4 assists per game while playing an average of just 25.9 minutes a night.

It is jaw-dropping to see how great of an impact Thomas made on Boston’s offense. With Thomas on the court, the Celtics scored a whopping 108.7 points and attempted 27.1 free throws per 48 minutes. With him off the court, Boston scored just 96.6 points and attempted only 18.2 free throws per 48 minutes.

That, folks, is the definition of making an impact.

Thomas got to the rim at will, which benefited the Celtics in a myriad of ways. First and foremost, it led to open layups for Thomas himself. It also opened things up for teammates on the perimeter off of drive-and-kicks. And, possibly most importantly, it led to defensive fouls, which sent the opponent into the penalty early and often each quarter.

As highlighted in the Sixth Man of the Year story, no other reserve in the league could really compete with Thomas, let alone anyone on his own team. He led all reserves in scoring, player efficiency rating, fourth-quarter scoring, offensive rating during clutch minutes, and free throw attempts per 48 minutes.

Those facts are a result of his seasonal numbers during the 2014-15 campaign. If one were to compare only his numbers with the Celtics to other reserves around the league, the case would be even stronger.

That’s why Thomas is Boston’s Sixth Man of the Year, and why he should have been the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.