Isaiah Thomas says his surgically repaired hip has mended enough to allow him to soon make his Denver Nuggets debut.
The point guard’s first appearance in a Nuggets jersey could come tonight against the Sacramento Kings (9 ET, NBA League Pass) — the team that picked him in with the last pick in the 2011 Draft.
Thomas, listed as questionable on the Nuggets’ injury report, told reporters today he will be a “game-time decision” and will make a ruling closer to tipoff tonight. Thomas said his hip is almost 100 percent and said he doesn’t feel the pain there he felt last year.
However, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported via Twitter that Thomas will make his return tonight.
“The biggest thing for me now is playing and see how fast I recover,” Thomas said Wednesday. “I feel like I’m ready to go, I’m just going to make a decision later today. If that’s tonight, that’d be great. If not, it’ll be right after All-Star [break].”
Thomas’ hip injury derailed his 2017-18 season, which he split between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. He missed the first 36 games of the season, and then never quite got comfortable with his new team, the Cavaliers. Thomas played 17 games for the Lakers, averaging 15.6 points before shutting himself down in March to undergo arthroscopic hip surgery.
With Thomas (and fellow guard Gary Harris) perhaps coming back soon, fans wonder how coach Michael Malone will get enough playing time for all his guards over the final 25 games.
Malone can’t wait.
“It’s going to be a great problem to have,” Malone said after Monday’s win vs. the Miami Heat. “Our depth is something that we think we can wear teams down with and we’ve shown that we’re more than willing and capable of playing small at times. So, you can throw a small lineup out there. So, we’ll figure it out. But let’s let them get healthy first and then we’ll figure out what the best lineup is to win that game.”
The last time Thomas was even mostly healthy for a regular season — during the 2016-17 season — he was an All-Star who averaged 28.9 points, 5.9 assists, and shot 46 percent from the field, 38 percent from the 3-point line and 90 percent from the free throw line.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
