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January 15, 2018One thing has remained the same in the constantly evolving NBA over the past three seasons: whether you’re on a flat Earth or one that circles its axle, the NBA Finals has featured the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.
In 2016, Kevin Durant was added to the rivalry because the Warriors felt they needed a boost in order to beat a healthy Cavs squad after blowing a 3-1 lead.
In 2017, after Kyrie Irving requested a trade, the Cavs have added another key player to the rivalry: All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas. Due to a hip injury suffered in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, the 28-year-old has played in just four games for the wine and gold after being traded to Cleveland in a package deal for Irving.
Although he hasn’t been part of it the last three seasons, Thomas has been able to watch the rivalry between the Cavs and Warriors be born from afar. Unfortunately, the point guard was forced to watch the first match up between the two on Christmas Day less than a month ago while continuing to recover from his hip injury, although this time he was able to watch from the sidelines rather than on his television in Boston.
Monday night, Thomas will have the opportunity to take part in the matchup for the first time, when Golden State travels to Cleveland to take on the Cavs in primetime on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Following Sunday’s practice, Thomas explained his excitement to (finally) be part of the Cavs-Warriors rivalry, a game that he hopes his team can begin turning it around after losing seven of their last nine games, per cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.
“It’s exciting,” Thomas said. “High, intense game, guys really care about that game and really want to win those games. I’m excited about the opportunity to get back to playing again after getting a few days off and also trying to figure out how to get a win. We’re in that mode right now where we just need a win to get that confidence back and get our mojo back a little bit. It’s a great opportunity to go against a really good team and we’ll be ready.”
Part of the Cavs’ struggles can be placed on their lack of effort, especially defensively, but another part can be due to the fact that they have had just one home game since the new year and two home games since December 20. Although they have struggled, Thomas and the Cavs are ready for the best team in the NBA to come to Quicken Loans Arena Monday night. On the opposite side of Thomas will be Steph Curry, a player that the 5-foot-9, 185-pound point guard has plenty of experience against.
“One of the top guards in the world,” Thomas said. “It goes back to when I used to play for the Kings, we always used to battle. So it’s fun playing against really great competition. He’s a helluva player,” Thomas said of Curry. “It’s tough to play against him, but at the same time he’s got to guard up, too. We’re going to battle and we’re going to do whatever we can to get our team a win tomorrow night.”
Since that Christmas Day game between the two, Golden State has only improved, winning eight of their last 10 games. Meanwhile, Cleveland has gone in the complete opposite direction. Either way, Thomas knows that—although is a big game especially given the Cavs recent struggles—he and the wine and gold have to just treat it as another regular season game.
“We played the Warriors good when I was on the Celtics,” he said. “I’m just watching film and trying to figure out ways I can impact the game and get my team a win. I know it’s a big game, but at the same time it’s just another game. We’ve got to treat it like that. We’ve just got to be ready and locked in and try to do the best we can to get a win.”
Although the Cavaliers have struggled for much of the last few weeks, they have an opportunity to get some of their swagger back Monday night, back in familiar territory inside Quicken Loans Arena. Although Thomas played it off as “just another game”, both the fans and Cavs know that Monday night’s game against the Warriors means so much more than just one of 82. Although he’s excited for the game, maybe, after taking part in the rivalry for the first time, the point guard will realize that it means so much more, too.