Isaiah Thomas isn’t rushing to get back to the Cleveland Cavaliers after his hip injury. Both Thomas and the Cavs want to do the right thing with his injury, even if it means the team will be worse in his absence.
Thomas is confident that good things will happen quickly once he gets back on the floor. LeBron James has used his words carefully when he’s been asked about Thomas, admitting that he won’t be the magic bullet the team is waiting for when he finally returns.
James also acknowledged that Thomas is an elite player, however, and one that won’t need a long introduction to get used to what the Cavaliers are doing. Thomas agreed with James’ sentiment. He spoke to the media on Friday and said that things will fall in line with the team once he gets up to speed and is finally healthy.
“It’s definitely going to be an adjustment period but me being older, me knowing the game a little bit more and being a student of the game, I’m going to be able to adjust quicker than somebody else could,” Thomas told cleveland.com on Friday.
LeBron, for his part, did say he thinks Thomas will make an impact. But it will take time to learn how to play with the former Celtics point guard.
“I think we’re both going to have to figure out how to get the most out of each other and be on the floor at the same time,” James said. “I haven’t played with the guy. I’ve never stepped out on the floor with Isaiah before. But I’ve played against him and I know what he’s capable of doing. So, we’ll have to see. … You can talk about that, but you don’t know until you get on the floor.”
What is clear is that everyone in Cleveland wants to see the duo team up sooner rather than later. The Cavaliers are struggling right now, and though they can’t simply wait until January to be competitive, IT and LeBron on the same floor gives them their best chance to win. You know, eventually.
