Isaiah Thomas to debut against the Golden State Warriors?

Isaiah Thomas could make his season debut when the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Golden State Warriors for the NBA’s annual Christmas Day games.

According to NBA insider Sam Amico of AmicoHoops, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Isaiah Thomas is set to make his debut at some point during the team’s upcoming road trip to the West Coast.

The Cavs will be hosted by the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, the Sacramento Kings on December 27th and the Utah Jazz on December 30th. They have five games before their trip out West and with Thomas “ready”, according to Amico, his debut could come before that time; that would fall in line with a report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that the Cavs expected Thomas would be healthy by mid-December.

However, with that said, if there’s one thing that is known about Thomas is he likes to prove his doubters wrong – and to do it in the spotlight.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will have a couple of marquee games before their Christmas Day matchup with the Warriors – they face Lonzo Ball and the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday and will face John Wall’s Washington Wizards on Sunday.

Yet, going head-to-head with a rookie point guard, no matter well-known, may not fit Thomas’ idea of showing the world that he’s coming back with a vengeance. Furthermore, it’s not the ideal stage to try to take the spotlight as the prevailing storylines will focus on “LeBron vs. Lonzo” and the chances James signs with the Lakers in the offseason after playing against them.

In addition, with Thomas cautious about coming back before he’s ready, the Lakers game may be too close for comfort.

The Cavs will face the Wizards in the nation’s capital. Over the last couple of seasons, having a president who was a basketball aficionado and genuine fan made the trips to D.C. worthwhile for the Cavs, fans and LeBron James in particular. With the current sociopolitical climate and the way that James has railed against the policies and words of the current president, that doesn’t seem to be the case this season.

This is another game where the storyline will, by necessity, be about LeBron James. James, who called the president a “bum” in the offseason, is one of the most powerful voices in the black community and is the most powerful voice among the black community in professional sports. With it seeming like the current president has made decisions that will disproportionately affect minorities — and done it with nonchalance — the stage has been set for James and the president to be adversaries.

Is that really the game Thomas wants to come back?

It does make sense that Thomas could want to play against a lesser team before taking on the juggernaut that is the Warriors and the Cavs host the Chicago Bulls (currently 6-20) on December 21st. However, as previously mentioned, Thomas seems to want to come back with a bang.

Excelling against the lowly Bulls doesn’t scream “fireworks” although starting point guard Kris Dunn is a defensive stud putting together his offensive game. With that said, Thomas could indeed return against the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors are still seen as the best team in the NBA although their record (22-6) is currently the third-best in the league behind the Houston Rockets (21-4) and Boston Celtics (23-6). Furthermore, with two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry sidelined with an ankle injury, the Warriors are a team with something to prove for the first time since the 2014-2015 season and a team that doesn’t pose as much of a threat as they traditionally do.

Debuting against the Warriors sans Curry gives Thomas a marquee game to shine in and a better opportunity to do it.

Although Thomas is extremely confident in himself, he’s not nearly in the game condition of other players — and he’s coming off of the worst injury of his career — so not having to guard a player with Curry’s shooting and ball-handling ability is a good thing.

In addition, because this is a Christmas Day game against a team the Cavs have met in the NBA Finals for three consecutive seasons, the storyline is simply “Cavs vs. Warriors” — despite Kevin Durant’s stellar 2017 NBA Finals series, he’s been a footnote to the 2017-2018 regular season.

So this is a game that can be about Thomas as much as it’s about anybody.

Hopefully, Thomas has more individual success against the Warriors this time around.

In the 2016-2017 season, when Thomas faced Golden State (2 games), he averaged 21.5 points and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 34.4 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three-point range. The Celtics went 1-1 against the Warriors.

In the 2015-2016 season, when Thomas faced Golden State (2 games), he averaged 20.0 points and 8.0 assists per game but shot 38.1 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from three-point range. The Celtics went 1-1 against the Warriors in this season as well.

With Thomas as the primary scoring option for the past two seasons and their only player capable of consistently scoring in isolation, it makes sense that the Warriors were able to defend Thomas so well. Now, with James beside him and Kevin Love learning how to take advantage of the mismatches he gets inside and on the perimeter, Thomas should find himself one-on-one for the vast majority of his baskets and can expect to catch a few easy chippies or catch-and-shoot attempts from the Bron Squad as well. That’s a difference that Thomas expects as well.

Those will be the opportunities for Thomas to use his quickness, ball-handling, shooting and finishing ability to convert from all three levels of the floor with efficiency.

It could be unwise for Thomas to look like he never missed a beat but I wouldn’t bet against the Little Giant or the ability of the Little Emperor (James) to make the game easier for his teammates. Besides, Thomas said he won’t return until he can average thirty points per night.

Whose to say his first 30-piece of the season won’t come against the Warriors?

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