Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas has been ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs after re-aggravating a previous hip injury in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against the Cavaliers. The Cavs lead the series 2-0 after a 130-86 thumping of the Celtics in Game 2. Here is the full press release from the Celtics:
The Boston Celtics today announced that Isaiah Thomas will miss the remainder of this year's postseason following re-aggravation of a right femoral-acetabular impingement with labral tear during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Cleveland. Thomas initially injured the hip during the third quarter of the Celtics' March 15 game against Minnesota, forcing him to miss the next two regular season contests. The injury was further aggravated during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Washington on May 12.
"Isaiah has worked tirelessly to manage this injury since it first occurred," said Celtics Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian McKeon. "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 did not travel with the team to Cleveland and is currently evaluating treatment options. A further update will be provided as soon as one is available.
This is obviously bad news for the Celtics, and extinguishes what little hope Boston fans may have been hanging onto after consecutive ugly blowouts at home to open the series. Thomas was the Celtics' best player in the playoffs despite playing through the grief of losing his sister, and he answered some doubts about whether he could be the offensive centerpiece on a Conference Finals team.
As strange as it may sound, this could be a blessing in disguise for the Celtics defensively. They've done absolutely nothing to stop the Cavs from scoring at will on the offensive end, and playing the defensively deficient Thomas for heavy minutes every game wasn't helping. Perhaps more playing time for Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier will result in a better defensive effort.
The problem now becomes, how do the Celtics score without Isaiah on the floor? We'll find out in Game 3 on Sunday.
