Isaiah Thomas is expected to participate in full-court, five-on-five practices in the coming days for the first time since he joined the Cavaliers in the summer, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN. According to McMenamin, the Cavs are hoping to have Thomas scrimmage with their G League affiliate, the Canton Charge.
As McMenamin details, the Cavaliers currently have practices scheduled on Saturday and Sunday, in advance of their Christmas Day matchup against the Warriors on Monday. It sounds like Thomas will participate in those practices, but even before then, the team wants to have him scrimmage with the Charge. It’s not clear whether Thomas will head to Canton, or whether some G League players will come to the Cavs’ practice facility, McMenamin notes.
Regardless of the specifics, Thomas is clearly getting close to making his debut for the Cavs after rehabbing his hip injury for several months. A recent report indicated that the veteran point guard is eyeing an early-January return, while Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net hears that the club has been targeting a three-game road trip later this month, which ends in Utah on December 30.
The Cavs haven’t confirmed an official timetable for Thomas, but it certainly seems like he has a good chance of getting back on the court within the next couple weeks. A team source tells McMenamin that that the final determination for Thomas’ return date will be a joint decision, with Thomas, the front office, and the medical staff all involved.
When Thomas does get on the court, he figures to be eased into action, and it will be interesting to see how his return affects other Cavs players. Jose Calderon looks like the most likely candidate to have his role reduced, but the club has played terrific ball with Calderon in the starting lineup. Getting a playmaker like Thomas in their lineup may ultimately allow the Cavs to dial back LeBron James‘ workload to some extent — James is currently averaging 37.3 MPG, second-most in the NBA.
I think DWade needs some rest. If DRose is ready, next game vs chicago would be a good time to give it a try. Versus milwaukee, pretty much Lebron was the PG, not very effectively on the whole.
You can’t plan for Rose though. Even if he comes back soon he will undoubtedly go down yet again.
Not sure why he’s practicing with canton. It’s going to look awfully bad for the cavs if he injures himself playing for a G league team.