The Los Angeles Lakers were able to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. In the win, Isaiah Thomas had a strong game against his former team.
Arguably the biggest trade this season was the one that took place between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers at the trade deadline.
With the Cavaliers stumbling, they decided to completely overhaul their roster in hopes of winning the Eastern Conference and making it to the NBA Finals once again. One of the big moves that they made was the decision to trade Isaiah Thomas to the Lakers.
Thomas was part of the return from the Boston Celtics in the deal that shockingly sent Kyrie Irving to Boston. While Thomas was an MVP candidate last season, he was coming off a hip surgery and clearly wasn’t 100 percent in Cleveland.
In exchange for Thomas, the Cavaliers received Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. Both are very capable of helping the Cavaliers, as Lakers fans were fond of both of them. However, Thomas certainly took being traded personally, as the Cavaliers obviously believed they would be better without him.
With this being his first game against the team that recently traded him, Thomas was motivated to have a good game, and he was able to accomplish that. As a team, the Lakers played very well against the Cavaliers, as with both teams being banged up, it was the Lakers who came out on top with a 14-point win.
In the win, the Lakers saw some big performances from Julius Randle, Brook Lopez, and Thomas. Against his former team, Thomas totaled 20 points, nine assists, and five rebounds. In the third quarter, Thomas really found his groove offensively and was a big part of the team extending the lead.
Next: Ranking the 50 greatest Lakers of all-time
Since being traded to the Lakers, Thomas has played better than he did with the Cavaliers, as it looks like he is getting healthier. While he might not be 100 percent healthy, Thomas certainly came to play against the Cavaliers.