The Boston Celtics’ star player might be laid up for quite some time.
Isaiah Thomas will consult with specialists starting Monday to “determine the next course of action” on his injured right hip, Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters Sunday, via ESPN.com. Stevens said surgery could be an option for the C’ss point guard, who was ruled out for the rest of the playoffs Saturday.
Thomas initially injured his hip during a March 15 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and aggravated the injury during Game 6 of Boston’s second-round playoff series against the Washington Wizards. He played through the pain in Game 7 as well as Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers but sat out the second half of Game 2 after re-aggravating the injury earlier in the contest.
“There were times where you could see he was really struggling, but probably nothing like (Friday) night,” Stevens said of Thomas. “I thought the first half he was really hurting, really didn’t have any bounce, didn’t have any push.”
According to Stevens, Thomas pleaded with team doctors to re-enter Game 2 in the third quarter, even with the Celtics trailing the Cavs by more than 40 points.
“Supposedly when we went back on the court on Friday night, he was all over the doctors with eight minutes left in the third in a 40-point game to come back out,” Stevens said. “But the bottom line was he didn’t have his burst.”
The C’s, who trail Cleveland 2-0 in the series entering Sunday’s Game 3 at Quicken Loans Arena, will severely miss the presence of their leading scorer. But teammate Avery Bradley appeared more worried about Thomas’ long-term health than anything else.
“We just want to see him healthy,” Bradley said, via ESPN.com. “He’s helped us out so much this year and I know he wants to be here to continue to help us.
“… It’s more than just basketball. I just want him to be able to be healthy, walk properly. It has to be painful for him.”
Thumbnail photo via Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports Images
