Isaiah Thomas to make his season debut for the Cleveland Cavaliers

(Image credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

published 2 January 2018

Point guard Isaiah Thomas will make his debut for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night, returning to the floor for the first time since being sidelined by a hip injury in last season's playoffs. Thomas was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Cavaliers over the summer and has spent the first months of the season rehabilitating from his injury.

Cleveland expects Thomas to add a needed scoring boost to its sometimes stagnant offense, which relies heavily on the playmaking and scoring of star forward LeBron James. Asked how he planned to adjust his game to Thomas' return, James told Cleveland.com that his strategy is simple: "Just give [Thomas] the ball."

Thomas will likely need a few games to adjust to regular season play after months away, and ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported that the minute floor general will be a reserve with a minutes restriction in the early going.