Loss of Thomas another blow to reeling Boston
CLEVELAND — Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas will miss the rest of the playoffs because of a hip injury, further damaging — if not outright dooming — the team’s chances in the Eastern Conference finals against Cleveland.
The Celtics made the announcement Saturday, a day after Thomas left Game 2 in Boston at halftime. The Cavaliers already led by an NBA-record 41 points at that point, and they went on to a 130-86 victory that gave them a 2-0 lead over the top seeds in the best-of-seven series.
The Celtics said Thomas injured the hip in March and aggravated it during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Washington. The swelling increased during the first two games against Cleveland, team doctor Brian McKeon said, and Thomas was limping on the court just before halftime Friday night.
“Isaiah has worked tirelessly to manage this injury since it first occurred,” McKeon said. “In order to avoid more significant longterm damage to his hip, we could no longer allow him to continue.”
Thomas did not travel with the team to Cleveland for Game 3 on Sunday. The Cavaliers could finish off the sweep with victories in Cleveland.
“He was pretty despondent not to be able to play,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said Friday. “He’s a tough guy, and for him to have to sit is really hard.” A moot point?
Of course, Thomas’ presence likely is a moot point with the way LeBron James and Co. played the last two games on the road against the Celtics.
Breaking records and Boston hearts, the defending NBA champions continued their unblemished romp through these playoffs with a 44-point rout that was so thoroughly dominating that James sat out the final quarter.
With Cleveland leading by 38 in the third quarter, Cavs forward J.R. Smith mocked some Celtics fans by pretending to sweep a broom across their famous parquet floor.
A mop would have been more appropriate for this carnage.
“It’s hard,” Boston forward Al Horford said. “It’s hard to take.”
Locked and loaded from the start, the Cavaliers were precise on both ends in the Game 2 bludgeoning. With ease and relentlessness, James and his teammates imposed their will on the top-seeded and overmatched Celtics, who just days earlier had been filled with optimism after beating the Wizards in seven games and then winning the NBA draft lottery.
Boston basketball boss Danny Ainge might want to offer that No. 1 pick to Cleveland for James. Because until further notice or he moves, the Eastern Conference is the domain of this king. MVP slight?
Shortly before Friday’s tip-off, the NBA announced that Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard are finalists for league MVP, leaving James out of the top three in voting for the regular-season award for the first time since 2008.
And while James he was unaware of the omission when he took the court, he proceeded to score 30 points with four 3-pointers, seven assists, four rebounds, four steals and three blocks.
There may be much more of that ahead in Games 3 and 4 as the Cavs will look to push aside the Celtics quickly and get as many as eight days off before the Finals start on June 1.
That is a bit presumptuous, of course, but there are no signs Boston can contain the indomitable James, who in his 14th season may be playing better than at any time in his life. He has scored at least 30 points in eight consecutive playoff games — this first to do that since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1970. Cleveland has won 10 in a row in these playoffs and a record-tying 13 in a row dating to Game 5 of last year’s Finals.