Report: Isaiah Thomas to Be on Minutes Restriction After Return from Hip Injury

When Cleveland Cavaliers guard Isaiah Thomas makes his season debut Tuesday against the Portland Trail Blazers, he will reportedly be on a minutes restriction.

According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, the plan is to institute a "20-to-22 minute restriction" on Thomas in the early stages of his return from his hip injury, although the "flow of his comeback" will determine how much time he plays moving forward.

Despite the minutes restriction, teammate Dwyane Wade is excited to get Thomas back in the rotation as the Cavaliers attempt to defend their Eastern Conference crown:

Thomas has never played a game in a Cleveland uniform and was part of the trade during the offseason that send Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics. The last time Thomas took the court was Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals when he was still a member of those Celtics and facing the Cavaliers.

Cleveland is adding his offensive explosiveness at an ideal time considering it has lost three games in a row and four of its last five following a stretch that saw it go 18-1.

Although Thomas hasn't played in the first 36 games this season, the Cavaliers are still sitting in ideal position at 24-12 thanks largely thanks to its head-turning 19-game stretch. They currently hold the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and are four games behind No. 1 Boston, but the presence of Thomas figures to make them an even more dangerous contender in the second half of the season.

The Washington product set a career-high with 28.9 points per game last season while shooting 37.9 percent from three-point range and earning All-NBA Second Team honors. Nobody on this season's Cavaliers squad is averaging that many points a night, and only LeBron James (27.8) and Kevin Love (20.2) are above 20.

Thomas' presence alone will take some of the scoring pressure off James' shoulders, even if he is on a minutes restriction out of the gates.