The Boston Celtics have announced that guard Isaiah Thomas is out for the remainder of the playoffs with a hip injury. The exact wording of the injury is a re-aggravation of a right femoral-acetabular impingement with a labral tear. The Celtics said the injury originally took place on March 15, with the re-aggravation happening in Friday night’s Game 2 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Thomas exited the game with two points and six assists.
Isaiah Thomas has been ruled out for the remainder of the postseason. Details here: https://t.co/Ljbw0suGQg
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 20, 2017
Isaiah Thomas Out for Remainder of Playoffs with Hip Injury
For a team to already be down 2-0 in a series and now lose their best player, the chances of a comeback for the Celtics have taken a serious hit. Even though Thomas was struggling in recent games, he was still the motor of the team and they were only going to go as far as he took them. Even at 5’9, his presence on the court is going to be significantly missed.
Rotation Changes
It will be interesting to see what direction the Celtics decide to take with the starting point guard spot. The nod for the spot will likely be given to either Marcus Smart or Terry Rozier. Whoever gets the spot will need to be aggressive on the offensive end in order to even attempt to make up for Thomas’s absence.
The offense will now have to run through Al Horford. While he has been more of an all-around player during his first season in Boston, he will need to take his offensive game to another level. But, he can still help the offense by upping his distribution and getting open shots for others.
Hoping for a Miracle
The Celtics are already hanging by a thread in this series. After a historically bad loss in Game 2 to the Cavaliers, there is not much they can do to make this a series, especially with Thomas now out. This could make the team rally together and fight harder, but it still might not be enough to make this series competitive.
Main Photo
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – DECEMBER 03: Isaiah Thomas (L) of Boston Celtics struggles for the ball with Rudy Gay (R) of Sacramento Kings during the NBA Regular Season basketball game between Sacramento Kings and Boston Celtics at the Mexico City Arena on December 03, 2015 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
