Isaiah Thomas made a sparkling debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers a few weeks back, putting up 17 points and three assists in 19 minutes to help the Cavs beat the Portland Trail Blazers. He then followed that up with 19-point, four-assist outing in their win over the Magic.
But since then, Thomas has looked much more like a player returning from a serious injury. He's shot just 5 of 26 from the field in his last two games, and has scored only 13 points combined.
Ahead of the Cavs' big matchup with the Warriors on Monday night, Thomas spoke about his return from his hip injury. He noted that he isn't surprised that he's been inconsistent, and said his strong first two games were "fool's gold." Via ESPN:
"I knew it was going to be like this," the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard said after practice Sunday. "I have no legs. So it's going to take some time to get it back, even when I played well those first two games I told Coach (Tyronn) Lue it didn't feel right. It was kind of fool's gold."
"The shots were going in, but none of my movements, none of the things I usually do felt normal," Thomas said. "It's going to be like that for a while. I've just got to be patient. I'm my biggest critic; I'm not a patient person. So it's killing me that ... to be, I'm used to stepping on the court and being special. So now I've got to work. I've got to work my way back and get my legs back and get my legs back to playing at a high level."
As Thomas has struggled, so too have the Cavs, who have lost three games in a row -- including two blowout losses to the Timberwolves and Raptors -- and are just 3-7 in their last 10 games. Monday's contest will be a big test for both the point guard and the team.
If the Cavaliers want to get back to the NBA Finals and get revenge on the Warriors for last season, they'll need Thomas playing at a high level. And this game will be a good indicator for how close Thomas (and the Cavs) is to getting there.