The last thing the slumping Cleveland Cavaliers need is another problem. When Kevin Love was lost for what likely will be the better part of two months Tuesday night, that's exactly what they got.
Love's injury, however, is not the biggest problem facing the Cavaliers. That's not a slight on Love, who deservedly was picked to make his fifth All-Star team earlier this month and is averaging more than 18 points and 11 rebounds per game. It's recognizing that Isaiah Thomas arguably has been the NBA's worst player since returning to the court a few weeks ago.
That undoubtedly sounds hyperbolic. But the numbers don't lie.
Those numbers weren't helped by Thomas's performance Tuesday night in Cleveland's 125-114 loss to the Detroit Pistons. He finished a minus-25 in 33 minutes (with much of that damage coming during a 17-3 Pistons run over a 3:40 stretch in the middle of the fourth quarter that put the game away), scoring 19 points but shooting 3 for 10 overall and 1 for 4 from three-point range (though he did go 12 for 13 from the foul line) with six turnovers.
Cleveland is being outscored by an astronomical 15.1 points per 100 possessions in the 289 minutes across 11 games in which Thomas has played since making his season debut on Jan. 2.
In the 334 minutes Thomas has been off the court since then, the Cavaliers are outscoring their opponents by a point per 100 possessions — a 16.1-point swing.
What makes these results more remarkable: He's played the vast majority of his minutes with LeBron James.
In the 239 minutes James and Thomas have shared the court over those 11 games, Cleveland has been outscored by a staggering 17.2 points per 100 possessions. Meanwhile, in the 1,574 minutes the Cavaliers have had James on the court without Thomas, Cleveland has outscored its opponents by two points per 100 possessions.
Much has been made recently about how James has a negative plus-minus for the first time since his rookie season. That is a result of the awful pairing of James and Thomas; James is plus-78 without Thomas and minus-90 with him.
Sunday in Cleveland, Thomas told reporters that Cleveland's issues are not solely his fault.
"We've been a lowest five [rated] defensive team in the NBA the whole time [this season]," Thomas said. "So when I come back, it's my fault now. Which, life isn't fair, but that's not fair, bro. At all. I just laugh at those things because I know in this circle and this team, everybody believes in each other, and everybody's in here for it to work and for us to be playing in June. That's the ultimate goal."
Thomas is right — the Cavaliers have been an awful defensive team all season. After Tuesday's loss, they are the worst defensive team in the NBA, allowing 109.8 points per 100 possessions, and Thomas certainly isn't the only reason.
But in those 289 minutes Thomas has played, the Cavaliers are allowing opponents to score an insane 118.2 points per 100 possessions. With Thomas on the bench, Cleveland is allowing opposing teams to score 108.6 points per 100 possessions — almost a 10-point difference.
Thomas never has been known as a defensive force, so it isn't surprising that Cleveland is in even worse shape with him on the court than on the bench. But with Thomas looking so bad offensively, his presence has only exacerbated Cleveland's problems.
Thomas never should have been put in this position. NBA teams need to send rehabbing players to their G-League affiliates the way Major League Baseball franchises use their minor league teams. After seven months away, Thomas should have played in the G-League for a few weeks, working on his timing and his shot.
As Thomas himself said, the goal for Cleveland is to be playing at its best in June, not January. Right now, though, he's creating far more problems than he's solving.