Isaiah Thomas' Cleveland Cavaliers debut might be coming sooner than expected. The Cavs' All-Star point guard has not played since last year's Eastern Conference Finals when he was a member of the Boston Celtics, but he is now targeting a return in mid-December.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Cavs have ramped up Thomas' rehab to include 3-on-3 drills and they are hopeful that he'll be able to hit the court in a couple weeks. In video captured by Slam Magazine prior to the Cavs' win over the Sixers earlier this week, Thomas certainly looked like a guy who is ready to get back on the floor.
If Thomas is indeed able to return by mid-December, he'll be back in time for the Cavs' Christmas Day showdown against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena.
The 28-year old point guard averaged a career-high 28.9 points last season and led the Celtics to the #1 seed in the East before the hip injury forced him to miss the final three games of the Eastern Conference finals against Cleveland.
He has been documenting his rehab in a video series called "The Book of Isaiah" via The Player's Tribune. In the recently released third episode he expressed some regret for playing through injury in the post-season because of the position he is in now.
“If I could do it over again I probably wouldn’t have played,” Thomas said.
“Just because, like, I made my injury so much worse,” he said. “But at the same time, it’s like, in that moment, there was no other option. I was going to play ‘till the end and I literally did that.”
The Cavs struggled out of the gate this season but have picked up momentum over the last few weeks, winning nine straight which puts them at 14-7 on the season.
In addition to Isaiah Thomas' injury, the Cavs have also been playing without starting center Tristan Thompson, who suffered a calf injury earlier this month.
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