Isaiah Thomas‘ injury status has been a big deal over the last few months as the point guard continues to work his way back to the court.
That journey from hip inflammation to health hasn’t been easy for Thomas, and he’s not there just yet. But with a mid-December timetable for his return, it finally looks like we know Thomas is close to being back to 100 percent.
Thomas has been chronicling his comeback effort in a series on The Player’s Tribune called The Book of Isaiah. The third video came out on Wednesday, and it has a number of interesting quotes in it, including the fact that he would not have played in the postseason if he knew the damage it would cause his hip injury.
“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.”
Thomas also hints at knowing what happened with the weird departure of both the strength coach and head trainer for the Celtics over the summer.
“The Celtics let go of their training staff,” Thomas said. “It was a weird situation, nobody knew why it happened.”
Thomas paused for a bit.
“I mean, nobody knew why it happened,” Thomas said, cracking a wry smile.
“It just makes you think,” he continued. “You have a lot of questions that one day will be answered and the real truth will come out. I’m not going to say it though.”
The video used a clip from The Jump where Rachel Nichols and Paul Pierce say it was a mistake for the Celtics to let Thomas play in the postseason.
It seems clear that Thomas isn’t happy with how his injury was handled, and there’s certainly some story to be told there. The Cavaliers didn’t know the severity of the injury until after the trade and asked for more assets in return for Kyrie Irving. That led to a few more days of wild speculation with the trade, but all that is behind us now. What matters is that Thomas gets back on the floor soon.
Getting there has been tough for him, but Thomas said it’s made him apprecaite the strugges other injured players have had now that he’s gone through it himself.
“All those people who’ve been injured, you have more respect for those guys,” Thomas said. “That process of getting back is just so tough.”
The waiting wan’t easy, though. Thomas could shoot jumpers but was only allowed to get his heart rate up on an elliptical.
“What I had to do throughout the summer was basically rest. Let the inflammation get out of that hip joint,” Thomas said. “And it was a long, slow process. I was on this slow grind, gradually getting better.”
His rehab was interesting in that it was not just about working out, but getting better for the future.
“Play ‘till I’m 40,” Thomas said when his physical trainers spoke of longevity. Thomas’ career may have been put in jeopardy by his hip injury, but no one wants to see him risk his career any further by coming back too soon. It’s a good attitude to have, but it’s clear Thomas wants to come back before Christmas. He’ll have a lot of work to do on the court when he gets back, whenever it is.
