Isaiah Thomas with the Gutsiest Performance of the Year

By Djack

Last night was the first playoff game for the #1 seed Boston Celtics. They were taking on the wishy washy Chicago Bulls and it seemed like your ordinary series between a 1 and 8 seed, where  the 1 seed is expected dominate. Well, about 24 hours prior to the game some horrible news was received. Chyna Thomas, the younger sister of star point guard Isaiah Thomas, was killed in a car accident. Devastating, the worst possible news a person on planet earth can get is that someone in their immediate family has died, especially when it's in such a tragic way. Many questioned if Thomas would play or not, and head coach Brad Stevens left the decision up to Thomas to make.

Game one rolled around and there Thomas was on the floor in pregames. He was going to give it his best shot, no one truly knew if he'd be able to play the whole game, or how well he could play with this fresh wound weighing on his mind so heavily. The cameras were on him throughout the entire pregame, showing his blank face that was filled with sadness, rage, and God knows what other emotions were running through his body at that time. All I know was I could feel his pain through the television, I think everybody could, and this was one of those moments in sports where the one person was bigger than the game.

Isaiah Thomas put on a performance of a lifetime last night. He dropped 33 points, scoring from spots all over the court, hitting circus shots, hitting deep 3's, and he keeping the Celtics chances of winning alive. Thomas shot 55% from the floor, carrying the Celtics while carrying a heavy heart, something almost no one on this planet could do and for that I respect him. I'm sure playing wasn't easy for Thomas, although it may have helped his mind wander away from the tragedy that had consumed his thoughts for a couple hours. The Celtics ended losing game one and it was tough loss at that, but Isaiah Thomas is a winner and a warrior. A warrior that everyone needs to respect and honor, truly one of the gutsiest performances I have ever witnessed. I hate the Celtics and everything Boston, however for the sake of IT, I hope he can pull off some miracles and have the fairy tale ending he deserves this postseason. RIP Chyna Thomas, my prayers are with the Thomas family.