A hip injury that significantly hampered Isaiah Thomas in the Eastern Conference finals won't require surgery, Celtics president Danny Ainge told the Boston Globe on Wednesday.
"Isaiah is making good progress," Ainge said. "He's out on the court, he's shooting. He's full speed ahead on the stationary bike and working in the swimming pool. He's progressing nicely."
Thomas suffered the initial injury to his hip in mid-March, and aggravated it in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference playoffs series against the Wizards. Although he pushed on -- scoring 29 points in Game 7 to close the series against the Wizards and playing in the opening games in Boston against Cleveland in the conference finals -- the pain was ultimately too significant to bear.
Thomas was evaluated by multiple hip specialists after the injury but a course of action -- whether it ultimately required surgery or not -- was not decided until the swelling subsided. Now, barring any setbacks, he's on track to return in time for training camp and won't require surgery as was initially feared.
At 28, Thomas is coming off his most successful NBA campaign in which he led Boston to a No. 1 seed in the East and earned All-Star honors. He averaged 28.9 points, 5.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds.
