Isaiah Thomas Says He 'Felt Good' After Participating in Drills with Hip Injury

Isaiah Thomas is one step closer to making his Cleveland Cavaliers debut after participating in five-on-zero drills Sunday, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com.

Thomas told Cleveland.com after the practice that he "felt good for the most part."

The point guard—who was traded to Cleveland in the deal that sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics—has been out with a hip injury but is expected to return to the lineup in January.

He first suffered the injury in March while playing for the Celtics, but remained in the lineup through Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It was determined he had a torn labrum in his right hip, which forced Boston to slightly upgrade the summer blockbuster trade.

Although the Cavaliers have turned things around with four straight wins after the 5-7 start, they are still looking forward to the addition of Thomas when healthy. The 28-year-old has been an All-Star in each of the last two seasons, setting a new career high last year with 28.9 points per game.

While the scoring boost will help, the team's biggest problem had been a lack of a true point guard in the lineup. Derrick Rose has been on and off the court because of injuries, while Jose Calderon is averaging just 1.0 points and 0.7 assists in seven games.

LeBron James has taken on most of the playmaking duties, but Thomas will take some pressure off when he returns and help the Cavs contend in the Eastern Conference.