Isaiah Thomas Will Beat You And Then Embarrass You

This isn’t meant to denigrate Isaiah Thomas, who fucked the Wizards all the way up last night and is proving himself to be the True Superstar nobody thought the Celtics had, but oh my God, can you imagine how aggravating it must be to get 53 points dropped on you by a guy who is about the size of Tom Cruise?

The best thing about watching Thomas take and make whatever shots he feels like is that he seems to know how much his success bothers his opponents. He knows exactly how to get in their heads, and all he has to do in order to drive them nuts is flash a glare or bark, “You can’t guard me!” after a bucket. That’s how he got the best of Michael Carter-Williams in round one, and it’s how he drove Markieff Morris nuts last night.

Morris and Thomas were talking trash to each other all game, but Thomas was the one pushing all the right buttons. This crossover was nice, but the incredibly rude stares that followed were Thomas at his best:

And it worked, too. After Morris fouled out on Thomas’s game-sealing three-point play in overtime, he couldn’t help but get into the little guy’s face one more time before heading to the bench:

Thomas’s size is supposed to be a huge disadvantage in a sport that is dominated by genetic freaks, but on nights like last night it feels like he’s the one holding all the trump cards, because there’s no way for any NBA player to not look stupid while trying to get tough with a guy who is 5-foot-9 and also the superior player. There are a lot of great players left in the playoffs, but none of them wield the power to trick guys into clowning themselves quite as effectively as Isaiah Thomas.