2. Hip injury is unlikely to go away. That injury doesnt heal on its own and he didnt get surgery. He can manage the pain (like he did for a lot of last year) but he wont ever be 100%.
So ... you've seen Thomas' MRI scans and x-rays? And you've spoken to his doctors? Or are you just making stuff up because it makes for a story you like?
As someone who had to learn an awful lot about hips in recent years, I can tell you that the fact that he didn't need surgery doesn't mean he's more likely to have trouble with it. It can very much mean he won't have any trouble with it. It's impossible for you or I to say. It all depends on the exact nature of HIS hips. And as far as I can tell, no one has violated HEPA laws yet by releasing Thomas' scans. So we just don't know.
I havent seen any MRIs or anything of that nature, but unless Boston has lied about the injury, and it is a torn hip labrum, then it will not heal. Those things dont heal on their own. Its possible that he will be able to manage the injury such that he is able to play at 100% percent, so my post was perhaps inaccurate, but I wouldnt expect it and even if he is at 100% on the court, he will have to manage pain in that hip for the rest of his career.
Dont need to look at MRIs to figure that out. Cant do the stuff a pro athlete does with a torn labrum and expect there not to be a lot of pain.
3. Lebron James is there and will create most of the offense. When IT was on the floor with us last year he was able to give us A+ offense because it all revolved around him. His gravity, his shot creation, his playmaking, the whole thing. In Cleveland, Lebron monopolizes a lot of this stuff and although he will not hesitate to allow IT to handle the ball, the system simply isnt built to maximize ITs skills like it was in Boston(this is speculation on my part). Because of this, Thomas wont be able to give the same level of positive impact on offense, while having almost exactly the same level of negative impact on D.
I think this is extremely off-base. Thomas worked a ton 'off the ball' last year due to Smart's ineffectiveness away from the ball and because we ran the offense through Al Horford so much and should have no problem doing so with James. Thomas is also a far more credible outside threat than Rose, Barea or Wade and will greatly improve the spacing for James to attack with.
Also - and this is perhaps the most critical, is that when Lebron sits, Thomas and Kevin Love will be able run an elite pick & roll attack. The two have extremely complementary skills, similar to the way Thomas and Horford matched up last year. Thomas and Love have history, being very close friends way back in their AAU days - even sleeping over at each other's houses. I expect them to have very good chemistry -- something Love and Kyrie never seemed to have.
They played together when they were like 16. I dont think that means auto-chemistry.
More importantly, IT simply cant have the same offensive level of impact that he did last year. If you think he can have that impact I just dont know what to say to you. It was a freakish combination of volume and efficiency that Id be shocked to see him match on either count with the Cavs. If nothing else you can chalk up his "decline" in impact to the law of diminishing returns. With an elite offense and Lebron James already in place, IT simply cant provide the same impact he did last year.
Topic: This guy is going to torch us in the ECFs (Read 11133 times)