Boston Celtics All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas is expected to miss the remainder of the 2017 NBA playoffs due to his injury. The five foot, nine inch ball handler hurt his hip in the first half of yesterday’s Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
According to team officials, Thomas’ injury is diagnosed as a right femoral-acetabular impingement with labral tear. He first got injured during a March 15 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which forced him to be sidelined for the next two contests almost a month after the 2017 All-Star weekend. Apparently, Thomas further aggravated his hip injury while playing against the Cavs, which could significantly affect the team’s effort to reach the NBA finals.
According to Dr. Brian McKeon, the Chief Medical Officer of the Boston Celtics, Thomas has done a good job protecting himself from aggravating the injury since it occurred. However, the team has decided to put him on the sidelines for the rest of the post-season games to avoid any career-threatening damage.
“Isaiah has worked tirelessly to manage this injury since it first occurred. The swelling increased during the first two games against Cleveland, and in order to avoid more significant long-term damage to his hip, we could no longer allow him to continue.”
The Celtics is currently down 2-0 against the mighty Cavaliers – led by NBA MVP-candidate LeBron James. The Boston team took the home court advantage after securing the most wins during the regular season. However, they are up against the defending NBA champions and without Isaiah leading them, it will be difficult for the Celtics to come back from a 2-0 game deficit.
Game 3 will happen on Sunday night in Cleveland, and Boston is expected to explore other options in the absence of its leading scorer. The crafty point guard has a 28.9 point average during the 2016-2017 season, and it’s going to be hard for the Celtics to fill the void Isaiah has left. Other players from the Boston team will have to step up to increase their chances of winning the whole series against Cleveland.
Without their playmaker, the Celtics will have to rely on isolated offense from Avery Bradley and the low post game of Al Horford. Bradley has been regarded as one of the best perimeter shooters in the league today, and he will need to boost his game for his team to beat the Cavaliers.
On the other hand, Horford will have to come out with a perfect game in Game 3 to get the win. He needs to attack Kevin Love, who is not known to be a good defender down the post. Horford needs to create gameplay in the shaded area, which could provide a better opening for his teammates, especially their shooters like Bradley, Jae Crowder, and Terry Rozier.
The winner of the Eastern Conference finals will face the winner of the Western Conference series. The Golden State Warriors leads the San Antonio Spurs 3-0 in the West, which could potentially set up a rematch of last year’s NBA finals between the Cavaliers and the Warriors.
Meanwhile, according to Jackie MacMullan of ESPN, Danny Ainge, the general manager of the Boston Celtics, thought about trading Isaiah Thomas for a lottery selection last season.
“[Ainge] was on the phone with everybody from coast to coast, and he was offering everybody,” MacMullan revealed on Bob Ryan’s Boston Podcast . “That includes Marcus Smart and [Thomas], and anything else they needed to get where he wanted to go. There were no untouchables on that team last year.”
MacMullan added that Al Horford is the only player on the Boston Celtics roster that is safe from any potential trade. Neither Isaiah Thomas nor Danny Ainge has made a comment regarding the recent trading rumors.
[Featured Image by Elise Amendola/AP Images]
