Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James commented on Isaiah Thomas’ highly-anticipated return after Tuesday morning’s practice.
As most hoops fans know, Thomas, 28, has been recovering from a hip injury he sustained in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals. After participating in several team practices without ill effects, including one with the Canton Charge, Thomas is finally well enough to take the floor with his new teammates, albeit in a reserve role in limited minutes.
James says it doesn’t really matter that he and Thomas haven’t played together much. In fact, it sounds like James’ approach to Thomas’ debut will be simple.
“It doesn’t matter,” James told Chris Fedor of cleveland.com after Tuesday Morning’s shoot-around at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “Just give him the ball.”
The Cavs, losers in four of their last five games, could use a little help in their backcourt rotation. The team will be looking for a scoring boost from Thomas.
“We know he’s excited to once again grace an NBA floor and actually play,” James said of Thomas. “We’re excited for him as teammates as well. We expect him to be gassed. We expect him to just be very emotional about the whole, just his journey, just getting back. As far as his performance, that’s the last thing that we’re thinking about.”
Tuesday night’s game between the Cavs and Blazers is scheduled to tip at 7:00 p.m. EST inside Quicken Loans Arena. NBA TV and Fox Sports Ohio will have live broadcast coverage.