Isaiah Thomas was playing hurt for basically the entire playoffs for the Boston Celtics last season after suffering the hip injury he remains sidelined with. As he looks back on that season in the first chapter of his documentary series, Book of Isaiah II, he claims the Celtics could have beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers and went on to the NBA Finals had he been fully healthy.
The Associated Press
“The injury happened back in March. I went in for a layup in the third quarter, and Karl Anthony Towns had fell on me. It jerked my leg a little in an awkward position. So from March to May, I played through it and obviously I made it worse.
“In the playoffs, my hip started feeling a little different, like a little discomfort. And I played until I literally couldn’t run anymore. I just wish I was able to be healthy and be able to give more because I felt like we could have won that series.”
Thomas is obviously not short on confidence and self-belief. It’s what has helped him become so successful in the NBA despite being well under six feet tall.
However, it’s hard to envisage a scenario wherein the Celtics could’ve beaten the Cavs even with Thomas fully healthy. For one, defense was the Celtics’ more pressing concern. Despite having home-court advantage in the series, they gave up at least 130 points to the Cavs on their home floor twice.
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
Thomas had a career year with the Celtics last season, averaging 28.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 0.9 steals per game during the regular season. Before being severely hampered by the hip injury in the Eastern Conference Finals, Thomas averaged 25.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game on 44 percent shooting. That includes a monster 53 point performance against the Washington Wizards in Game 2 of the East semifinals.
A fully healthy Thomas could potentially have made that series a bit more competitive than it ended up being. However, thinking they could’ve outright beaten LeBron James and the Cavs seems like a step too far.