Shortly after Friday’s practice session in California, news came down the wire stating that Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Isaiah Thomas would not play in Saturday night’s game in Utah against the Jazz, leaving most hoops fans to wonder when his debut might come. Will it be on Jan. 3 against his former team, the Boston Celtics? Perhaps, but the former Washington Huskies stand-out will undoubtedly be on a minutes restriction.
Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue has already stated that Thomas will be held out of back-to-back sets when he is ready to return. Cleveland will host the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 2. If he doesn’t play in that game, there’s a good chance he won’t play on the 3rd in Boston.
Thomas, now 28 years of age, has run several team practices with no ill effects, including one session with the Canton Charge earlier this month. He’s scheduled for another scrimmage with the Cavs on Jan. 1.
It would be a tall order to ask Thomas to make his debut against his former team on a minutes restriction — a fact he commented on after Friday’s practice.
“Whenever Isaiah Thomas makes his return — and Jan. 2 at home vs. POR is the earliest that could be — he will be held out of back-to-backs, per Ty Lue. So if he plays against Portland, that means he won’t play in Boston the next day. Also, whenever he returns he’ll be on a minute restriction. And Thomas said today he’d have a hard time in his comeback game in Boston without a full allotment of minutes to make an impact.”
Without a doubt, Thomas is itching to take the floor with his new teammates. In fact, he tried to get the Cavs to let him play on Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings, but the team denied his request. In his 76 games played for the Celtics last season, the two-time All-Star turned in some of the best statistical figures of his life, averaging a career-high 28.9 points on 46 percent shooting from the field (38 percent from beyond the arc), 5.9 assists, and 2.7 rebounds — all while knocking down 91 percent of his free-throws.
Be sure to keep your browsers locked on Cavs Nation for more updates on Thomas’ status as they become available.