CLEVELAND – If you don’t know what a “femoral-acetabular impingement with labral
tear” is, just know this: it’s the thing that has turned an exceedingly
difficult challenge for the Boston Celtics into something seemingly
insurmountable.
It is, in other words, point guard Isaiah Thomas’ right hip injury, which the
team announced Saturday would cause Thomas to miss the remainder of the Celtics’
postseason. Given that Boston already is down 2-0 to the Cleveland Cavaliers in
the Eastern Conference finals, with the best-of-seven series shifting to the
Cavs’ homecourt for Game 3 Sunday (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT) and Game 4 Tuesday, that
“remainder of the postseason” might not be all that long as it is.
But it’s still a devastating blow to the Celtics in general and a lousy end for
Thomas to what had been an emotional, distressing, exhilarating and formidable
playoff run.
“It’s a blow,” teammate and backcourt mate Avery Bradley said after Thomas sat
out the second half of Game 2 Friday at TD Garden. Thomas, Boston’s leading
scorer both during the season and in the playoffs, managed only two points in 18
minutes in the first half of Cleveland’s 130-86 rout, was visibly limited and
did not return for the third quarter.
“Isaiah brings a lot to this team, not just with his leadership but his play,”
Bradley said. “Most important, I just hope he’s better. I care about him off the
floor.”
Initially termed a hip strain, Thomas suffered the injury back on March 15 in a
game against Minnesota and missed two regular-season games. He aggravated it May
12 during Game 6 of the Celtics’ conference semifinal series against Washington.
“Isaiah has worked tirelessly to manage this injury since it first occurred,”
Celtics chief medical officer Dr. Brian McKeon said in a team news release. “The
swelling increased during the first two games against Cleveland, and in order to
avoid more significant long-term damage to his hip, we could no longer allow him
to continue.”
Thomas, 28, averaged 28.9 points and 5.9 assists during the regular season, with
a 26.5 player efficiency rating (PER) to earn
In the playoffs, those stats had dipped to 23.3 ppg, 2.2 apg and an 18.3 PER.
The 5-foot-9 guard, along with the rest of the Celtics, were rocked on the eve
of their playoff opener against Chicago when they learned Thomas’ 22-year-old
sister, Chyna, had died in a one-car accident April 15 near their home in
Tacoma, Wash.
He dedicated his postseason performances to her, scored at least 20 points five
times in Boston’s first seven games, then went for 53 points in Game 2 against
the Wizards. He added 29 points in the Game 7 clincher Monday.
Thomas shot 7-of-19 in the opener against the Cavs two nights later, including
2-of-7 on 3-pointers, while dishing 10 assists against a defense focused on
slowing him. Losing their shortest but most potent weapon turns a Celtics’
comeback in the series against the NBA’s defending champs into a tall task.
Bradley has topped Boston in scoring in the two games so far against Cleveland,
averaging 17.0 points with forward Jae Crowder at 15.0 and rookie Jaylen Brown
at 14.5. In the two games Thomas missed in March, backup Marcus Smart started in
his spot.
Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here,
find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its
clubs or Turner Broadcasting.
