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BOSTON – Isaiah Thomas is riding the hottest three-game stretch of his career, and tonight, a familiar foe with a new-look backcourt will attempt to shut him down.
Phoenix, which traded Thomas to Boston last February, is allowing the second most points per game in the league (106.4), so facing off against its former point guard, who has averaged 32.3 PPG during his last three contests, will be quite the task.
“He’s going to score points,” said coach Jeff Hornacek this morning after the Suns’ shootaround at TD Garden. “He can really put the ball in the hole, but we can’t over-help and all of a sudden let all the other guys get going, so we’re going to have to try to do our best on him and be disciplined.”
Hornacek, who coached Thomas during his 46-game stint in Phoenix last season, says one factor that makes him such a great scorer is his unpredictability.
“He’s a smart player in that no matter how you guard him, he’s going to have a counter,” said Hornacek. “He’s going to do something different. You look at a lot of the great players in our league, they have those counters, and that’s what makes him difficult to stop offensively.”
The Suns have had a difficult time stopping opposing guards lately, so Thomas should be able to continue his tear tonight.
During Phoenix’s last four games, it allowed opposing starting backcourts to average 41.3 PPG. It also surrendered least 20 points to the last three starting point guards it faced.
One reason why the Suns’ backcourt has been struggling on the defensive end is the loss of their top guard, Eric Bledsoe. He suffered a season-ending meniscus tear against the 76ers on Dec. 26, and Phoenix has since missed his defensive quickness and ball-hawking ability.
Bledsoe’s absence has also had a negative impact on the other side of the ball for the Suns. He and Knight were the top two scorers on the team at the time of his injury, scoring a combined 40.2 points per game. Having those two speedy ball handlers on the court at once enabled Phoenix to be a running and gunning force.
“Without Eric it’s been a little different,” said Hornacek. “We’re trying to execute more plays, we’re not getting the easy transition buckets that we’ve gotten in the past, so we’re having to grind it out a little bit more.”
With Bledsoe sidelined, Knight has become the team’s top ball handler, a role that he previously played in while with Detroit and Milwaukee.
“Now that he’s the only [point] guard out there, he’s being more vocal with the play calls, he’s getting our guys into things and he’s taking on that role of what a point guard needs to do,” said Hornacek.
Meanwhile, rookie Devin Booker has been bumped up to the starting 2-guard spot.
Born Oct. 30, 1996, Booker is the youngest player in the league, but he has been playing well beyond his years lately. He has averaged 14.8 PPG on 49.5 percent shooting during the nine games since Bledsoe’s injury.
“It’s unfortunate that Bled went down, but I’m getting the opportunity that I always wanted,” said Booker, who was drafted 13th overall last summer out of the University of Kentucky. “I’m out here in the mix with everything, right in the fire, and I’m just trying to get used to it.”
Knight, also a product of UK, is impressed with the way Booker has stepped up, though he is not surprised based on his upbringing.
“He’s a very mature kid for his age, and that’s what we expect out of Kentucky kids,” said Knight, who is averaging 19.7 PPG. “He’s done well, and we can’t expect him to do anything drastic, but he’s doing everything he needs to do.”
Those two can certainly score, but their focus needs to be set on the defensive end tonight. Knight says they won’t be able to completely shut down Thomas, but limiting him needs to be a major point of emphasis.
“He’s gonna score, that’s what he does,” said Knight, who was traded to the Suns the same day they dealt Thomas to Boston. “But we just have to make it tougher than usual and not let him get a lot of easy ones. We’ll just try to make him work for everything he gets.”
As long as Thomas keeps working at the pace he has been lately, that shouldn’t be a problem for him.