The image of Isaiah Thomas on the Boston Celtics bench, his left wrist heavily wrapped as he winces in pain, is not what you want to see especially in a preseason game that has little to no value in the grand scheme of things.
But the defiant attitude Thomas displayed last season while playing through a series of injuries, is very much alive and well in the preseason.
When asked whether he would miss any time because of his sprained left wrist, Thomas responded, “Hell no! It ain’t broke so I’m good.”
And the Celtics were certainly good in Thursday’s 107-92 preseason win over Charlotte. It appeared as though the injury occurred in the third quarter.
By that point in the game, Thomas and the rest of the Celtics starters had left the bench with a sizeable lead that to their credit, they were able to build on as Boston had little trouble down the stretch putting the Hornets away.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens liked a lot of what he saw from his team on Thursday. But like most coaches, he saw room – lots of room – for improvement.
“I thought we did a better job for longer,” Stevens said. “But not long enough.”
Boston Celtics
Here’s a look at the Stars, studs and duds from Thursday’s game.
STARS
Jaylen Brown
His above-the-rim exploits may get the crowd hyped, but Brown continues to show there’s a lot more to his game. He had 12 points off the bench which included some nice finishes around the rim and a 3-pointer, a shot that if it starts going down consistently will make him an extremely tough cover for any team.
Terry Rozier
The race to replace Evan Turner off the bench continues to look like it’s Rozier’s job to lose. And so far, he is blowing away the competition. Rozier had 14 points off the Celtics bench on 6-for-9 shooting.
Isaiah Thomas
About the only thing that seemed to slow him down was Brad Stevens limiting his minutes and a sprained left wrist injury which doesn’t appear to be serious. Thomas played 20 minutes, scoring 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting which included knocking down 3-of-6 on 3-pointers.
STUDS
Al Horford
For the second time in as many games, Horford delivered another solid performance at both ends of the floor. He finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
James Young
It was another solid night by Young who seems to be getting better with each stint of action. Against the Hornets, he had five points and six rebounds in 15 minutes while playing solid defense.
Jeremy Lamb
The former UConn star made the most of his opportunity to see extended minutes, tallying a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds – both game highs – in addition to handing out four assists in just 22 minutes of court time.
DUDS
Roy Hibbert
The more you watch Roy Hibbert play, the clearer it becomes this is a man whose game isn’t going to get back to the All-Star form he was at a few years ago. He logged 21 minutes on Thursday, scoring just two points on 1-for-4 shooting while picking up five personal fouls.