When the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Isaiah Thomas from the Boston Celtics in the 2017 offseason, they knew it was going to be a while before the crafty ball-handler was well enough to play, as he was still recovering from a hip injury.
After enduring seven months of rehabilitation, Thomas made his Cavs debut on Jan. 2 in a 127-110 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, scoring 17 points in just 19 minutes of playing time. He’s had some good and bad games since then. In fact, the former Washington Huskies stand-out has been the Cavs’ leading scorer in each of their last two games. However, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the team is growing a bit frustrated with his on-court performance.
“The question with the Cavs is if they will make Isaiah Thomas available,” Windhorst said on Monday’s episode of The Jump. “I can tell you this. It’s going very poorly with Isaiah and the Cavs right now. There’s a lot of frustration with the way Isaiah is playing on the team.”
As most hoops fans know, Thomas is a great scorer. It’s probably safe to say that he just needs a little more time in the Cavs’ system. In his 76 games played for the Celtics last season, “I.T.,” as he’s more commonly known, turned in averages of 28.9 points on 46 percent shooting from the field (38 percent from beyond the arc), 5.9 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and just under one steal (.9).
In his seven appearances with the Cavs this season, Thomas has posted averages of 16.1 points on 39.6 percent shooting from the field (29.2 percent from downtown), 3.6 assists, and 1.3 rebounds.
The statistical difference is clear, but remember the fact that Thomas is just now back to playing.
Thomas and the Cavs, losers in nine of their last twelve games, will be back in action on Tuesday night, as they’re scheduled for a match-up in the Lonestar State against the San Antonio Spurs. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. EST with TNT having live broadcast coverage.