For the Cavaliers, some good news: Isaiah Thomas will finally be taking to the court today. He played the long game; even as he wanted to burn rubber as fast as he could, he followed the advice of the franchise’s medical staff and took his time. Never mind that he’s slated to be a free agent after the season, and that missing four-tenths of a contract year will make it harder for him to prove he’s worth, in his words, “the Brink’s truck.” Preferring to first take a step back in order to move two steps forward, he thought best to err on the side of caution in recovering from the hip injury that sidelined him deep into the 2017 playoffs.
Parenthetically, Thomas couldn’t have returned at a better time. The Cavaliers have lost three straight — and five of the last six — matches, and need the spark he figures to provide in order to shake off the malaise. He won’t be hitting the ground running, what with a minutes restriction slated to be strictly implemented. Still, his presence cannot but he deemed a boon; for all his supposed deficiencies on defense, his dynamism on offense should prevent the opposition from loading up on fellow All-Stars LeBron James and Kevin Love, not to mention provide opportunities for the rest.
Which, for all intents, is why Thomas’ teammates couldn’t be any happier. Among others, James, Dwayne Wade, and J.R. Smith took to social media to welcome him back, professing excitement to see him in wine and gold against the Blazers today. Heck, even Jose Calderon and Cedi Osman, whose spots in the rotation he will be affecting, professed their glee. Notably, he will be missing the set-to against the Celtics tomorrow, but small strides make for sterling sprints; the hope is that he will be able to go full bore when he pays the Garden a visit next month.
In any case, Thomas is back, and Cavaliers fans will know soon enough whether he can succeed in exorcising the demons left behind by erstwhile star Kyrie Irving. All signs point to the affirmative. He’s showing up at last, and, if his capacity to continuously overcome adversity is any indication, he’ll be putting up as well.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.
