The Cleveland Cavaliers lost a key star on their team when Kyrie Irving asked management to trade him. The Cavaliers took their time and eventually found a team that could send them a star in return. The problem is that the player the Cavaliers gained was isaiah thomas, and a hip injury he suffered in the 2016-17 NBA playoffs ensured he would not be able to start this season. The original word was that Thomas would remain out of action until sometime in 2018.
Isaiah Thomas' return date altered
Originally, sources indicated that the Isaiah Thomas injury return date would be later in the second half of the season.
The idea was that LeBron James would get the Cavaliers to the postseason with or without Thomas and they just wanted him healthy to ensure they played at full strength to a hopeful fourth straight NBA Finals appearance against the Golden State Warriors.
The Cavaliers got good news at the start of the season when they learned that Isaiah Thomas was progressing faster than expected and could be back by Christmas. However, after starting the season at .500 with a 7-7 record, fans are wondering if the Cleveland Cavaliers need that help now.
That help could be coming. Bleacher Report's Howard Beck reported that the timetable for the Isaiah Thomas injury return could be just around the corner. Instead of Christmas, the reports indicate now that he could be back in early to mid-December.
Since former best-case scenarios had Thomas with the Cleveland Cavaliers by January 1, this is great news.
Is Isaiah Thomas the answer for the Cavaliers?
Ty Lue said that he already had a team meeting heading into tonight's game because the team has a great relationship with each other but it isn't playing out well on the court.
The question for the Cleveland Cavaliers is whether or not they can get back on the same page.
Derrick Rose hasn't been playing badly in substituting for Isaiah Thomas. Rose ranks third behind LeBron James (28.1) and Kevin Love (17.6) in points-per-game at 14.3. His 1.7 assists could be better but LeBron James has taken that role on himself, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers with 8.8 assists-per-game.
However, it is a huge dropoff from last year when Kevin Love was scoring more (19.0) and Kyrie Irving averaged 25.2 points-per-game, just 1.2 points fewer than LeBron James.That is what the Cleveland Cavaliers need from the point guard position and Isaiah Thomas can be that man.
Last season, Thomas averaged 28.9 points-per-game while dishing out 5.9 assists. The Cleveland Cavaliers may have a lot of small problems but getting Isaiah Thomas back in just a few weeks will fix one of the biggest ones.
