Date for Isaiah Thomas' return to Cleveland Cavaliers' lineup unknown

Isiah Thomas and the Cleveland Cavaliers can’t wait to get a look at each other in an NBA game. When that will take, precisely, remains a bit of an unknown as he continues his recovery from a torn labrum.

The last reports circulating about Thomas had him potentially returning to the lineup in early January. Just a week ago, Thomas worked out with the Cavs’ G League affiliate, the Canton Charge, to get some on-court practice time as his recovery efforts continue. He was in uniform for last week’s game against the Chicago Bulls — but did not play — and has been in a similar state for the Cavs’ games since then.

According to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, the team is unsure if Thomas will suit up for a Jan. 2 road game against the Boston Celtics (8 ET, ESPN). That game would be particularly relevant as it would not only be Thomas’ first game of 2017-18, but would pit him against the team that traded him in the offseason for the Cavs’ Kyrie Irving.

At Friday’s practice, Thomas told the media he tried to force the Cavs to play him on Wednesday night, but they denied his request.

Isaiah Thomas said he tried to force Cavs to play him on Wednesday and they denied him

— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) December 29, 2017

As Vardon reports, the Cavs have yet to set a definitive date for Thomas’ return, and coach Tyronn Lue yesterday seemed to hedge on whether or not Thomas would play in Saturday’s road game against the Utah Jazz (8 ET, NBA League Pass).

Thomas was out Wednesday in Sacramento, and coach Tyronn Lue was quick to rule him out for Saturday’s game at Utah. Lue then hedged a bit by saying “I don’t know” when asked if he was already sure Thomas wasn’t playing against the Jazz.

Lue is holding a practice Friday in wine country, in his words to “get some shots up, cover defensive rules and principles and also scrimmage a little bit so Isaiah can get a feel and play 5 on 5.”

Thomas scrimmaged last week with the Canton Charge but has yet to do it with his Cavs teammates. A source said he participated in 5-on-0 drills with the Cavs at Wednesday’s shootaround — a sign that he is indeed close to playing.

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It’s virtually out of the question for a player to play in back-to-back games after being out since May with hip injuries. So, if Thomas were to play against the Blazers, it would be hard to believe he’d also play against the Celtics the next night, even though that’s the team which traded him to Cleveland in the offseason.

The Cavs and Thomas himself, Vardon writes, have been reluctant to have his first game back come against a marquee opponent. In line with that thinking, Thomas sat out on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors and he could sit out against Boston, too.

Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com notes that the Cavs are looking forward to their practice in Napa, Calif., on Friday for a multitude of reasons. As for Thomas, writes McMenamin, he will be on a minutes restriction whenever he returns to the lineup:

“Dynamic scorer. I think a guy who can score 10, 12, 14 points in a row,” Lue said of the skill set that Thomas will bring to the Cavs. “Can run pick-and-roll, can come off screens. He gets to the free throw line. So he adds a different dynamic to our team offensively.”

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“Play with pace,” Lue continued when asked about Thomas’ role. “We want to attack and score early and he can do that. It’ll be exciting to get him back.”

Before Thomas suits up, of course, the Cavs are also looking forward to their Napa retreat.

“Steve Kerr came up to me before the [Christmas] game and was like, ‘Man, I heard you guys are going to Napa. That’s really great. And it’s a great time to do it,’ ” Lue said. “The grind of the season is long. And it will just be something special for the team. Just team bonding.”

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“This is all T-Lue, this is all Coach Lue,” LeBron James said of the idea for the team travel to break up the road trip. “Whatever we were going to do, we were ready for it. For us to have a unique opportunity to go travel in wine country on one of our days off, I think it’s pretty cool that our coach, through a gruesome season, a long season and right now throughout the holidays when we’re away from our families, for us to be able to kind of get our mind away from basketball, not being with our families, to be able to go there and learn some things and also taste some great wine. Just to decompress for 24 hours, that’s pretty genuine on his behalf.”