Cleveland Cavaliers guard Isaiah Thomas made his debut last night against the Portland Trail Blazers and looked great in the process.
The Cavaliers have long looked forward to the debut of their new point guard, Isaiah Thomas. On Tuesday night, their wish was granted — Thomas returned to a basketball court for the first time since May of 2017. But not only was his presence electric for the Cavaliers, his play was too. Thomas, in only 19 minutes of action, scored 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, knocking down three 3-pointers in the process.
Thomas only played four minutes in the fourth quarter but helped spark a run that put the game become out of reach for the Trail Blazers. With Thomas scoring 17 points in that short amount of time, Michael D. Sykes II of SBNation imagined the impact he could have without a minutes restriction, compared to Kyrie Irving.
"He [Kyrie] was still a -120 in minutes played with James off the court. He wasn’t the best playmaker for the team and the ball was often stuck in his hands with him trying to make a play for better or worse. With Thomas, there’s still movement. It doesn’t stick. He still cuts hard despite playing in an isolation-heavy offense. He still moves the ball in transition to find the best play."
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Even in all of the hoopla and celebration, Thomas and his health is still the main priority for the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers are electing to not play Thomas tonight versus his old team, the Boston Celtics. It’s been nearly seven full months since Thomas has played and it wouldn’t be wise to play a back-to-back. The NBA season is a marathon, not a sprint. So with Thomas actually cleared, the ideal goal would be to have him ready for the stretch run of the NBA season. Besides, they need a fully healthy Thomas to truly contend for an NBA title.