Despite having pulled off a great return for their unhappy star Kyrie Irving, the Cleveland Cavaliers might not have entirely solved their puzzle against the Golden State Warriors just yet.
One of their key return pieces, Isaiah Thomas, has mightily struggled against the Warriors last season, managing only 34.4 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from deep, according to ESPN. While this is the case for most teams playing against the defending champions, it only get worse at the other end of the floor.
While Irving had drawn criticism due to his mental lapses on defense and his unwillingness to pick up defensive assignments, Thomas is perhaps the only worse player at the position at doing just that — ranked as the worst individual defender among starting point guards.
Thomas is an excellent scorer, proving to be the third-best in the league after Russell Westbrook and James Harden last season, but his defensive woes have become a complete liability — an area Cleveland had been hoping to improve.
While the addition of Jae Crowder certainly brings a boost to the Cavs’ defense, it’s hard to see Tyronn Lue benching LeBron James or Kevin Love at either forward spot or playing them out of position for long stretches just to fit him into the fold.
Thomas can be a difference-maker at both ends of the floor, but the results could be delightful or disastrous, depending on which side of the floor he’s playing on — but against what’s proven to be the best offense in the league, it’s likely the latter will have the most impact when the chips are down.