WALTHAM, Mass. -- Maybe it's time to start calling Isaiah Thomas the "Little Ticket."

During the debut of Kevin Garnett's "Area 21" segments as part of the "NBA on TNT" broadcast last week, the Big Ticket offered some hefty praise for the Boston Celtics' pint-sized point guard.

"Isaiah's got so much heart and he plays so big. Very gritty, very tough," Garnett said during a segment with Rasheed Wallace in which the former NBA stars debated whether they would rather have Thomas or Cleveland's Kyrie Irving taking a final shot. "It’s a point guard league. The point guard matchup is very difficult. ... I love Isaiah’s heart. Your point guard, a lot of times the identity of your team starts with your point guard. Isaiah, I love his heart and how he plays."

Apprised of Garnett's comments after Boston's practice on Monday, Thomas was genuinely appreciative of the praise.

"I’m the 5-9 Kevin Garnett. That’s who I want to be," said Thomas. "[Garnett's praise] means a lot. For a guy I looked up to, who I knew I would be nothing like [in size], but just the way he prepared himself, the way he didn’t back down from anybody, and how he was so locked in. It was amazing to see that up close. For him to say that about me, that says a lot."

After Garnett announced his retirement before the season, Thomas told Boston sports radio 98.5 a hilarious story about how, during Thomas' first game versus the Celtics as a rookie in 2012, he ran hard into one of Garnett's patented illegal screens and barked at him about it. Thomas said Garnett responded by telling him to, 'Shut yo little midget ass up.'

Considering that Garnett continued to poke fun at Thomas' height in future matchups, Thomas was happy to hear Garnett offered such effusive praise and Thomas can't help but wonder what it would have been like to be teammates with someone like Garnett.

"Even guys around here, like our strength coach [Bryan] Doo, he always says, 'You would have loved KG and he would have loved you. He doesn't like a lot of guys, but he would have loved you.' And I wish I got to play with a guy like him," said Thomas.

Thomas is attempting to lift Boston back to the sort of contender status it last enjoyed during Garnett's six seasons with the Celtics. And after elevating to All-Star status last season, Thomas has only improved his play early in the 2016-17 campaign.

Thomas is averaging 26.2 points and 6.8 assists through six games this season, and is shooting a career-best 49.5 percent from the floor (even as he's struggled a bit with his 3-point shot early in the season). Boston's offense ranks second in the NBA in offensive rating, putting up 110.7 points per 100 possessions.

Thomas became the first Celtics player since Kevin McHale in 1986 to post six consecutive 20+ point games to start a season, according to ESPN Stats & Information. What's more, ESPN Insider ranks Thomas in the top 10 for average game score through the first two weeks of the season.

Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone, who coached Thomas in Sacramento during his first years in the league, said Sunday that Thomas has flourished because the Celtics have allowed him to play to his strengths.

"You know what’s funny? I think early on when I had him, the fight he was fighting was that people were telling him he had to be a true point guard," said Malone. "And the reason I think we hit it off was I told him, 'Forget that. Be you.' Isaiah has been a scorer, first and foremost, his whole life. And that’s who he is. The one thing I think he’s done a better job of as the years go on is that he’s not just a scorer. He will make the right play. He’s become a better facilitator, a better playmaker.

"That’s what happens. Guys get to the NBA and people ask them to be something they’ve never been. And people struggle with that. And I wanted him to embrace who he was. For me, geez, 20 points and 6 assists per game he averaged. Now you look at him, he’s an All-Star. He’s helping his team get to the playoffs. I couldn’t be happier for him and prouder of him, because he truly is a gym rat and he loves the game of basketball, and he puts a lot into it. And that’s why he’s getting that much in return."

Though Thomas is regarded as an offensive player, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has repeatedly noted Thomas' desire to be a better defender. Boston's defensive struggles through the first six games don't sit well with Thomas, who knows that he and his teammates have to get back on the same page.

"We watched a lot of film [at Monday's practice] on what we didn’t do well. I think that says a lot," said Thomas. "We don’t have to go back to basics and do drill work, we gotta figure it out and do it in the games. I think it’s a big emphasis on controlling what you can control, being in the right spots, because we’re not the right spots in the defensive end. And the big thing, it seems like we don’t trust each other on that end. I think if we trust each other that will take care of our mistakes that we’re making."