Isaiah Thomas: Celtics offense is 'fool's gold'
The Boston Celtics have weathered a spate of injuries and sit tied for fourth in the Eastern Conference, but their leader isn't satisfied.
Speaking at Boston Children's Hospital on Thursday, leading scorer Isaiah Thomas vented about his team's sloppy performances and slammed their ninth-ranked offense that's kept them alive to start the season.
"It’s fool’s gold the way we’re playing offense so good," Thomas said according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
The Celtics made their bones in recent seasons by being a dominant defensive side that struggled to score outside of converting turnovers into transition opportunities. That was their identity and it served them well.
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For one reason or another, the Celtics resemble an entirely different squad this season. Their defense has taken a giant step backwards, but they've remained competitive thanks to scorching-hot starts from Thomas and Avery Bradley, who are both averaging career highs in scoring.
But focusing on offense has led the Celtics to drop their commitment to defense, and that's an awful trade-off, says Thomas.
"Guys are getting more opportunities on the offensive end, so maybe that means they’re taking a step back defensively, which is not good. It’s hard to play both ends of the floor at a high level, and that’s why only a few players in this league can do that.
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"But we’ve just got to get that mindset back of being a defensive team and then letting the offense take care of itself," Thomas concluded.
Boston holds an 11-8 record, but their point differential of plus-0.8 suggests they're closer to a .500 team. That's a far cry from where the Celtics expected to be heading into the season.