Isaiah Thomas’ Cleveland Cavaliers debut went as well as he or anyone could’ve imagined. He scored 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting in 19 minutes of play in a 127-110 Cavs win as he looked a lot like his old self despite missing a good chunk of the season due to a hip injury.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was highly complimentary of his point guard after the game, but he also cautioned that things likely won’t go as smoothly for Thomas in every game as he continues to work himself to full fitness.
Lue was wise to temper expectations on Isaiah Thomas after his impressive debut. Thomas was likely high on adrenaline as he finally got back on the court, which helped him play much better than expected. But that adrenaline won’t be there in every game, and he will still have a long road ahead of him until he returns to All-Star form.
However, it was promising how Thomas gave the Cavs a good taste of what they thought they’d be getting when they acquired him in the trade which sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics. At his best, Isaiah Thomas is a transformative offensive force who can put points up in a hurry and can help them compete for another championship.
Tyronn Lue must still find the right balance in his lineups now that Thomas is in the mix, and there will likely be some growing pains along the way. But it’s definitely a good problem for Lue to have as he now has more or less his complete team to work with.