Isaiah Thomas won't play against Celtics on Wednesday night at Garden

Isaiah Thomas will make his season debut for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers but he won't be suiting up for Wednesday's showdown between the Celtics and Cavs at TD Garden.

After missing the first 36 games of the Cavs' season with a hip injury, team doctors have cleared Thomas to play on Tuesday following a number of full-contact practices over the past week. Head coach Ty Lue told reporters in Cleveland after today's practice that Thomas was given go-ahead. Despite his recovery, the team is still being cautious with him out of the gate since he's not yet been cleared to play in back-to-back games. Due to that, he'll be sitting out in Boston on Wednesday as the Cavs begin a five-game road trip in Boston.

BSJ Analysis: Once Thomas failed to make his season debut last week on the Cavs' west coast trip, it was easy to see this coming. The Cavs could have elected to have him skip Tuesday's game and suit up on Wednesday night for a dramatic Boston return but that's a lot of pressure to put on a guy who will be dealing with plenty of rust as he makes his season debut. Instead of playing in a crazy atmosphere in Boston for the first time in months, Thomas will wisely return Tuesday in a less stressful home game against a Western Conference opponent in Portland.

The decision was likely made easier for the Cavs and Thomas, knowing that the point guard will have at least one more chance to play in Boston this year on Feb. 11.

For now, it will just be good to see Thomas get a chance to return to the hardwood again on Tuesday after such a long absence. There will still be plenty of drama surrounding Wednesday's matchup, but the main attraction (Kyrie Irving vs. Isaiah Thomas) will have to wait for one more month.