Isaiah Thomas: I 'Knew' Celtics Would Be Good; Cavs' Struggles 'Tough'

As Isaiah Thomas continues to rehab his hip injury in an effort to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the All-Star point guard is not surprised to see his former team off to a strong start.     

Coming off their 11th straight win of the season Friday after an 0-2 start, the Boston Celtics own the NBA's best record.

"I knew they were going to be good," Thomas told Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. "They won 10 in a row; that's definitely a surprise. That's hard to do. Like, they've got good players. They've got a great coach. That was going to happen."

On the other side of the equation, Thomas revealed seeing the Cavs off to a sluggish 5-7 start has been "tough."

"I didn't think it would be as tough as it is right now for us, but I mean, everybody goes through this at some point in the season," he said. "I'm glad we're going through it now to figure it out early, and hopefully, it will be better later in the year."

Thomas was the biggest reason Boston achieved the Eastern Conference's best record (53-29) last season, but the 28-year-old missed the last three games of the playoffs against the Cavaliers when he injured his hip. 

The Celtics shipped Thomas to Cleveland in the offseason as part of the package for Kyrie Irving, who leads Boston with 20.3 points per game this season. 

The Cavs are still waiting to see what they have in Thomas, who could be ready to make his season debut in January. 

Defense remains an Achilles heel for the Cavaliers. The three-time defending Eastern Conference champions rank 27th in points allowed per game (114.2) and last in defensive efficiency (115.6 points allowed per 100 possessions), per Basketball-Reference.com.