Before winning two straight games, the Cleveland Cavaliers found themselves in unfamiliar territory as they lost 10 of their previous 14 games. There were a lot of factors that added to their woes, but Isaiah Thomas believes that one of the ongoing problems is that the Cavs are not playing to their strengths.
The two-time All-Star cited that he and LeBron James should not be playing together all the time. He then used James Harden and Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets as an example of how stars take turns in leading their teammates on the court, but still start and finish games together.
Thomas made it known that he wants the Cavs to do that as well with him and James, via an interview with Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“My minutes just can’t be with LeBron at all times. We got to play to our strengths. Just like Chris Paul and James Harden, they don’t play together at all times.”
“We got to play to our strengths. Kyrie [Irving] last year, they didn’t play together at all times. So he’s figuring it out, and we’re figuring it out as a unit, how to use our strengths, and at the same time, we know for the most part we start games together, finish games together, and we go from there. So it’s a learning process, and we’re still learning each other. I’m still learning this team, and Ty Lue is still learning how to use me and use me to the best of my ability.”
It could be that Thomas shared his concerns to let Tyronn Lue and his staff know that he has this idea in mind. At this point, the Cavs may try to incorporate it into their rotation and see it as an experiment. If it works, then they may continue using it for the duration of the campaign, but if not, they can always scratch it and return to what they have been accustomed to.