Isaiah Thomas is reportedly “steps away” from debut with Cavaliers

Isaiah Thomas hasn’t played all season while recovering from a torn labrum in his hip, but he piqued Cavs fans’ interest with this tweet today:

While that is certainly encouraging, a report from Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon says that Thomas is still “steps away” from returning:

The two-time All-Star told cleveland.com at Cavs shootaround Monday that while he was referring to his eventual return to the court, he had not reached a point in his recovery from hip injuries where he would feel comfortable playing in games.

"If I could average 30 points a night, I'd be out there already," Thomas said. "I can't right now so I'm not out there yet."

Vardon’s report indicates that the team’s target date of Jan. 1 is still their public timetable, but said what we were all thinking in that it seemed likely that Thomas would play well before that.

Thomas will need to get his conditioning back in order and the Cavaliers are right to be patient with his rehab. There’s no purpose in having him play hurt to chase regular season wins. In the meantime, the team will continue to roll with Jose Calderon at point guard, it seems. Something tells me that Isaiah might be a little more productive once he’s back.