Celtics' Isaiah Thomas: 'The hip feels great ... I should be ready by camp'

Speaking to reporters at his basketball camp in Boston, Thomas was optimistic about his health

Isaiah Thomas, the Boston Celtics' 5-foot-9 dynamo, missed the final three games of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a hip injury. 

It likely wouldn't have made much difference as the Celtics were pushed aside in five games by the mighty Cavs, but it was still a tough ending to what had been an impressive season. 

The good news for the Celtics is that Thomas did not need surgery on his hip, and he expects to be ready to start training camp with the Celtics' new and improved roster that now features Gordon Hayward. Thomas was back in Beantown recently to host a basketball camp and told reporters his hip "feels great." Via the Boston Herald: 

"The hip is great," Thomas told the Herald on Saturday during his annual basketball clinic at BU, where he was hosting more than 400 campers. "It's going well. Rehabbing it, but it's going well. It's a real slow rehab process, but it's getting better and that's what it's all about."

"That's the plan, yeah," he said. "I should be ready by camp, but I'm getting back in the gym shooting and being able to work out in the weight room and get my cardio back, because I've been down for two and a half months since the season ended. It's getting there though. This week has been great progress for me."

Even though Thomas is at 100 percent just yet, his progress is great news for the Celtics. Even with Hayward in town, the Celtics need another strong season from Thomas if they hope to challenge the Cavaliers again for Eastern Conference supremacy.