5. Isaiah Thomas
All in all, Isaiah Thomas’ return from injury and debut with his new team has not gone as planned. Since Thomas’ return, the Cavaliers have struggled immensely and Thomas seems to be nothing but a distraction off the court and liability on it. He’s dominating headlines on multiple fronts this week after some controversial comments and a feud with one of the NBA’s all-time greats.
Thomas has played in just five games with the Cavs since returning from injury and is averaging 13.9 points per game in 23.2 minutes played. Not everything has clicked and the defense has been horrendous as the Cavaliers are on yet another losing streak. However, it’s Thomas’ off-court comments and situational involvement that are grabbing the attention of many. Celtics legend Paul Pierce objected to the Celtics playing Isaiah Thomas’ tribute video on Feb. 11, due to it being his retirement ceremony night. Pierce believed it would take away from his night and voiced his opinion on that. Although Thomas agreed with Pierce and took to Twitter to express that, he still found himself in the middle of a Jalen Rose-Pierce feud. In addition, Thomas made comments about the Cavs’ practices and how they may be an issue for him.
But, at the end of the day, this story will likely be forgotten. Thomas and the Cavs will sort out the kinks in their armor and begin playing well together. On-court chemistry takes time to develop and it seems as if everybody jumps the gun with LeBron James led teams and assumes they’ll be a disaster. Unlikely. Off the court, the feuds will end and the comments will be lost in the plethora of other headlines around the league. In other words, it’ll all be okay in Cleveland.