Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 goals for Isaiah Thomas in 2017-18

2. Be serviceable on the defensive end

There are two trains of thought when considering Thomas as a defensive liability next season.

First, Boston had the assets to compensate for their point guard’s defensive deficiency. During the regular season, Boston boasted a 99.7 defensive rating with Thomas on the bench, which would have easily been best in the league. With Thomas on the floor, that number plummeted to 108.6.

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The Cavaliers won’t be able to hide Thomas’s shortcomings as easily. Cleveland ranked in the bottom third in the NBA in defense. Backup point guard Rose posted a negative Defensive Box Plus-Minus last season. Backcourt running mates Wade and J.R. Smith aren’t Gary Payton either.

So, simply put, Thomas will need to step up next season. He doesn’t have to make the All-Defensive First Team, but he must be serviceable, which is probably how one would have described Kyrie Irving on defense when the games mattered.

As the Cavs plan to play Love at center, it’s even more paramount that Thomas stays in lock step with his assignment. It’s bad enough to have an undersized point guard, but lacking a viable rim protector adds even more challenges.

But here is the second train of thought; none of that matters. The only matchup that matters for Thomas is in June 2018, when he shares the floor with Curry in the NBA Finals.

At the very least, Thomas must be able to match up with the likes of Kyrie and Curry in playoff series and limit their productivity.