Boston Celtics

After Lineup Change, Isaiah Thomas Has Celtics In Control Against Bulls

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

Sports Illustrated, Rob Mahoney/Sports Illustrated

CHICAGO — Playoff teams look most like themselves when they have room to breathe. The detailed game planning that goes into a seven-game series is a natural constrictor, slowly binding down even the most reliable scoring options available. The only relief is response. It can be as subtle as a tweak in execution or, in the case of Boston’s first-round comeback against Chicago, as clearly notable as a starting lineup change. It took Celtics coach Brad Stevens dusting off the gently used Gerald Green—and running a smaller, rangier rotation overall—for the Celtics to even mimic the flow that typically carries their offense. “The biggest thing there is that everybody in the league knows that he can go on these runs,” Stevens said. Even then, Boston needed a shift toward more traditional pick-and-rolls to balance the offense and only caught a groove once Rajon Rondo’s disruptive defense was removed from the series by a hand injury prior to Game 3. Isaiah Thomas, when given that kind of open space, has the power to restore order.

The all-or-nothing feel of the Bulls this season is owed in part to this feedback loop. There have been games where Jimmy Butler alone could turn the tide, as he nearly did on Sunday. But Chicago’s natural disposition is a full tilt. When they aren't furiously closing the gap, they are withering plainly. None of this erases the flaws that made the Celtics a reasonable mark for an upset in the first place. If Boston ever commits anything but its complete attention to the defensive glass, it will hemorrhage points. Any team that can engage Thomas on defense on command (something Chicago cannot do well, thanks to its miserable grab bag of point guards) will make hay in the matchup. Boston can be stalled and it can be rattled far more than one would expect of the top seed in the conference. That all of this is true does not disrupt an underlying balance: the closer this series comes to order, the further the Celtics will separate.This article originally appeared on