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Cleveland Cavaliers: Isaiah Thomas, unlike George Hill, never embraced being Robin

By Nathan Beighle

SAN ANTONIO, TX - JANUARY 23: Isaiah Thomas #3 of the Cleveland Cavaliers signs autographs for fans before the game against the San Antonio Spurs on January 23, 2018 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Darren Carroll/NBAE via Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO, TX - JANUARY 23: Isaiah Thomas #3 of the Cleveland Cavaliers signs autographs for fans before the game against the San Antonio Spurs on January 23, 2018 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Darren Carroll/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Cleveland Cavaliers need Robins on their team. George Hill understands that. Isaiah Thomas, in his short stint in Cleveland, didn’t.

The Cleveland Cavaliers former point guard, Isaiah Thomas, made his Los Angeles Lakers debut on Saturday, after being traded to LA on Thursday. Thomas, who didn’t want to be traded, returned to his old self with 22 points, a total he surpassed just once in fifteen games in Cleveland.

In my opinion, Isaiah Thomas feels he is once again the alpha dog in Los Angeles. He is players with relatively young and inexperienced players like Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and Kyle Kuzma. The untapped potential on that team is as high as any other team in the NBA, but for now, IT might be their best player.

And, for Isaiah Thomas, that’s where he succeeds.

Although they lost, the Lakers ended up scoring 123 points, and just like most teams with Isaiah Thomas, they struggled to defend, giving up 130 points. Following the game, Thomas said, “I got my powers back playing with this team.” So, it’s confirmed: Isaiah Thomas only plays well on subpar teams.

To be fair, the 2016-2017 Celtics were a great team, but they are in a great system. Thomas himself did not necessarily make the Celtics thrive in the East. The only times Thomas’ team has recorded a +.500 record is when he was on the Celtics. Their culture allowed him to thrive.

Their culture has allowed them to finish under .500 just once in the last decade. IT had an MVP-caliber season last year, but it might not have finished that way if it wasn’t for Brad Stevens and the phenomenal system they have in Boston.

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As for Thomas, elsewhere, his alpha dog mentality has altered how his team’s play. That’s one reason I believed the Cavaliers struggled when both Thomas and James were on the court, averaging -15.5 points per 100 possessions. For a team currently No. 3 in the Eastern Conference and supposedly having two superstars on the court, that’s an extremely discouraging figure.

Like previously stated, their struggles may have come from Thomas’ unwillingness to take a back seat. He was getting shots up and missing by the boatload. He shot just over 33% over his 15 games and shot a tad over 13 shots per game, the second most for Cleveland in that span. Thomas needed to work his way into the rotation, not hoist up shot after shot upon his return, although that’s exactly what he did in LA.

The exit of Thomas ushed in a new era for Cleveland, an era defined by egoless, selfless basketball.

That will be brought in by the team’s newest additions. George Hill, one of the four players brought in, already set the precedent moving forward. According to ESPN, Hill said, “We just got do our job, be the best role players we can possibly be. He’s the Batman, and we got to be all Robins. We got to figure it out.”

That’s exactly what you want to hear from a guy that is just looking to make his mark on this title-contending team. Hill, Hood, Clarkson, and Nance all have little postseason experience compared to James so it will imperative that they take the back seat, become robins, and learn from him, not only to better the team but also to better their future play as well.

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We all hope the lonely road of almost unwatchable Cavaliers’ basketball ended the Wednesday before the trade deadline. Since then, the Cavs are 2-0 and have played fantastic basketball.

Hopefully, less ego and more team will be the key to success for the Cavs moving forward.