Isaiah Thomas has been fined $20,000 by the NBA for a foul he committed on Andrew Wiggins. During a game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night (Jan. 8), Thomas fouled Wiggins hard, sending the star of the Wolves to the ground. It led to an immediate ejection for Thomas, with the league reviewing the play to decide whether a fine or suspension would be necessary.

On Wednesday afternoon (Jan. 10), the league announced the decision to levy a heavy fine on Thomas for the altercation. The small piece of good news for the Cavs is that Thomas isn’t going to face a suspension, despite the Flagrant Foul 2 looking really bad on replays.

Hitting Wiggins in the neck area, even if it wasn’t on purpose, isn’t something the league was just going to brush aside.

Quick action by the NBA

It was Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations, who made the announcement through the league on Wednesday. They didn’t give a long statement about what had taken place but set the tone for what would be allowed to take place during a basketball game. Isaiah Thomas is going to walk away a lot lighter in the wallet as a result.

By avoiding a suspension, this means that Thomas will be ready to go on Thursday night (Jan. 11) when the Cleveland Cavaliers travel to play the Toronto Raptors at 8 PM ET. The Cavs then get a few days off before playing the Golden State Warriors at home on Monday night (Jan.

15). That will be the first of a three-game homestand during the week, with games against the Warriors, Orlando Magic, and Oklahoma City Thunder coming up.

Outlook for the Cleveland Cavaliers

In the latest NBA standings, the Cavs find themselves as the third-place team in the Eastern Conference. Though the team started out the season slowly, a pep talk by LeBron James and some sustained success helped the team move up in the standings.

Despite losing six of their last 10 games, the Cavs still have a 26-14 overall record.

Entering play on Wednesday, the Boston Celtics lead the East with a 33-10 record, putting them five-and-a-half games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers. There are a lot of games left to be played, though, including several head-to-head games left on the schedule.

Getting Isaiah Thomas back after his offseason surgery should help the Cavs a lot and Thomas avoiding a suspension should help the core group develop chemistry quickly. NBA trade rumors about acquiring DeAndre Jordan will likely continue as well.
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