I still think the Cavs are going to the Finals, but their chemistry stinks at the moment and it was going downhill from the moment they traded Kyrie for Isaiah Thomas.
He just hasn’t fit in well and he is being very bold about his grievances when he is being critiqued. Bleacher Report has the story.
“We’ve been a lowest-five defensive team in the NBA the whole time,” Thomas said at practice Saturday, after the Cavs finally got back in the win column with a 115-108 victory over the Pacers on Friday night. “So when I come back, it’s my fault now? Which, life isn’t fair, but that’s not fair, bro. At all.”
“If they’re worried about my shot selection, they must not have seen me play the last few years,” Thomas said. “That’s all I can say about that. If somebody’s worried about that, what did you trade me here for? To not shoot? To not find my rhythm? To not be Isaiah Thomas?
“I can’t be anybody else. So whoever’s saying that, I don’t know what I’m here for if I’m not here to score the ball and make plays after being off seven months.”
Thomas has become a favorite of Gilbert, and they often exchange calls and text messages, a league source familiar with their relationship told B/R. It isn’t great for locker room chemistry, because the rest of the players know it.
“LeBron just looks at everybody as a shill for Dan,” the league source said.
“The word is out that Dan is running things,” a rival executive told B/R. “Frankly, that’s where he’s happiest and the role he’s most comfortable in.”
If by chance the Cavs don’t go to the Finals look for the whole thing to collapse, but not need to panic yet.