While the “Isaiah Thomas Revenge Game” will have to wait until Feb. 11, there will still be plenty of drama in the barn on Causeway Street tonight (8, NBC Sports Boston) when the Cleveland Cavaliers make their first trip of the season to Boston.
Kyrie Irving might go down as LeBron James’ biggest rival ever considering their less-than-amicable divorce this past year, and there’s been plenty of passive-aggressive bulletin board material that’s been thrown since the split.
In November, LeBron was asked by Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck about Thomas’ return to the team and LeBron said, “It’s been a while since I’ve had that clear-cut guy who can get guys involved but also score at the same time.”
When Kyrie originally asked for a trade out of Cleveland, LeBron posted an Instagram video with the song lyric: “[Racial expletive] said they with you when they really not.”
In October, Kyrie wore a hat that read, “Popularity contests are not truth contests.” He also was caught on video at a wedding, also attended by Steph Curry, keeled over laughing when Curry made fun of LeBron’s workout video.
Both sides have been hesitant to go into detail about their time together in Cleveland as well as the circumstances surrounding the blockbuster trade that had Thomas and Kyrie swapping cities.
The individual rivalry between LeBron and Kyrie took a backseat on opening night in Cleveland when Gordon Hayward went down with that gruesome injury in the opening minutes. Kyrie had 22 points and 10 assists while LeBron pumped in 29 points and had 16 rebounds in a 102-99 Cavaliers win.
