Isaiah Thomas‘ 19-point debut Friday night in Minnesota was one of the bright spots of the Lakers‘ season, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Thomas signed a 10-day contract under the hardship provision because L.A. is shorthanded due to a mix of injuries and players in health and safety protocols. Thomas understands that he may not be with the Lakers very long, but he’s enjoying the opportunity to play without the pain in his hip that bothered him for so long.
“That was very frustrating, when your mind is telling you to do something but your body won’t allow you to do it,” said Thomas, whose career was derailed by a hip injury in the 2017 playoffs. “And that was my first major injury so that was like, ‘Basketball is everything to me.’ so it really stopped me from being who I am. It really stopped me from being happy.”
The Lakers brought in Thomas for a workout during the summer, but decided against giving him one of the open roster spots that eventually went to Austin Reaves and Avery Bradley. LeBron James said he’s happy to have Thomas as a teammate again, even though their previous partnership with the Cavaliers didn’t work out.
“He wasn’t healthy in Cleveland and he was playing out of just pure grit and his hip was just not allowing him to be who he was before the injury,” James said. “Obviously he has his pop back, has his shot back, and it’s good to have him.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Devin Booker was a full participant in today’s practice and is optimistic about returning Sunday after missing the Suns‘ last seven games with a strained left hamstring, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “We’ve still got to be careful and see how he responds to the day before and the next day, how do you feel,” coach Monty Williams said. “When you’re dealing with a hamstring, it’s a weird deal because some people have the low, some people have the mid, some people have the high. I’ve only done like the high one so I only know how that felt like. It’s just a tricky, tricky injury.”
- Marcus Morris entered health and safety protocols this morning, but none of his Clippers teammates have been affected by the virus, per Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. Morris, who was with the team in Oklahoma City, returned to Los Angeles on a private flight and wasn’t experiencing any symptoms, coach Tyronn Lue said.
- The Warriors issued a statement Friday that Klay Thompson completed his latest G League assignment and his recovery timeline is still on schedule. Thompson is expected to debut at a home game some time in January.
Im happy for IT, especially as a Cs fan, but this is the 3rd time he join3d a Bron team and the first time he said something nice about IT.
If i were to simplify, i wish we kept IT and didnt bother with Kyrie. I mean if the Cs got something from Kyrie leaving, but didnt. We traded a guy that played through his sisters death till the last min, literally played and got told to hit the bricks and get to his fam, and then got his tooth knocked out next round….IT legit has given wayyyyy more than hes gotten in return.
Like shoot man, he was drafted 60 overall with the same name as a dream team member. Only 60 overall to make all star, but also is 5 something. Everything he accomplishes within the NBA is kind of a miracle yet he keeps doing it and gets dumped on.
Didn’t Isaiah Thomas want a max deal? Isn’t that why the Celtics traded him for whatever they could get? Kyrie’s a pretty good player, it’s just too bad it didn’t work out for the Celtics.
Also, I’m not sure that Isaiah Thomas was a dream team member? Was he on Dream Team 2?
But yes I agree with you on Long odds that he beat to become a successful NBA player.
They traded him because he was injured and wanted a contract. They fleeced the Cavs. All they got out of that was Sexton who probably is gone next year.
I’m pretty sure Thomas wasn’t on the dream team, and it had something to do with MJ, or something like that. I vaguely remember hearing about it on the Bulls doc or something on Thomas like a 20for20 or something. Lol
When was the third time he was on a brown team besides this year and with cavs?
It is a nice story if he hangs on and completes a comeback.
IT: “That was very frustrating, when your mind is telling you to do something but your body won’t allow you to do it,”
Um, welcome to my world. I’m out there at LA Fitness trying to ball with 25 year old guys who Blow by me if I hustle up on their jumper. It’s like I’m a statue out there on defense LOL. The Mind wants to move but the body doesn’t. Oh well just going to keep plugging away until I can’t anymore. As long as the J keeps falling I’m going to get my butt out there haha
Gary… you’re beyond your Brinks Truck days?
Keep working for a 10-day. They pay a WHOLE lot now.
I’m trying. In fact I’d be happy with a 10-minute LOL.
I know this is a what if scenario, but hypothetically let’s say Klay Thompson comes back only to re-injure himself and is out for another year…would the Warriors cut
Bait at that point?
No the contract is guaranteed.
19 pts in 22 mins. Rooting for Isiah. Lakers do really need that. Scoring off the bench.
Yeah, he’s actually exactly what they need, but they’ll have to pair him with some defensive minded guards. If not, he’ll get switched on and torched more often than not…
Also, what happened to Ellington, he has looked like a complete shell of his former self seemingly missing all kinds of open looks.
Maybe it was just the few games of his I’ve watched and really noticed him, but man!! At this point, almost anyone would be better than Ellington getting those shots..