Cavs: 3 things to look out for in game vs. Wizards on Friday

#1: Isaiah Thomas looking more near his old self

Washington Wizards veteran guard Isaiah Thomas has had a tough road when it comes to injuries, and hip issues the last two seasons, in particular, have severely limited him. He also had surgery to repair a ligament in his left thumb in September, as the team then announced, and the team expected him to be out for six to eight weeks (and this was h/t NBC Sports Washington’s Chase Hughes).

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At this point, though the Wiz are reportedly going to keep Thomas’ minutes to about the low-to-mid 20’s (max) for a good bit, he has been a starter the last two games he’s played for Washington.

That was in a win over the Detroit Pistons and a loss at the Indiana Pacers, and at least at the moment, Thomas is looking more near his old self.

Thomas, who was actually a piece involved in the Cavs-Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving trade before the 2017-18 season and was simply a bad fit for Cleveland then and barely played, and was traded near the 2018 deadline, looks much healthier now, and has shown he could be a key piece for the Wiz this year.

Thomas has helped soften the load on Wizards star 2 guard Bradley Beal a bit, and the former has had a solid 13.6 points and 6.4 assists per game in five contests.

According to NBA.com, those marks are tied for second and leading Washington (when it comes to assists per game).

Seeing the likes of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton, I would imagine on most occasions when Thomas is on the floor, go against the veteran Wizard will be fun to watch.

Thomas is getting back to his old self in terms of being able to create off-the-bounce, and he’s opened things up for teammates, such as Beal, Thomas Bryant and when working with reserves, players such as Moritz Wagner and Davis Bertans.

It’s good for his sake to see I.T. back and healthier, and him starting again would seem to be a spark.

That being said, I’d hope that Garland and Sexton, on occasion, can get after Thomas and force Washington’s defense to collapse when being primarily defended by Thomas.

Garland has really struggled as a scorer to begin his rookie season, as he has an effective field goal shooting clip of just 34.0%, which is the second-worst on the Cavs, as NBA.com has demonstrated.

Again, I’m happy for I.T., who’s had a really tough road to get to this point, and he’s looked pretty good.

Factoring in his 5-foot-9 height and him otherwise being a liability on defense, though, the Cleveland Cavaliers need Garland to get going as a scorer, and matchups at times against Thomas (and also feasibly for Sexton on occasion) could help with that.

On to the second thing to look out for in this one.