Denver Nuggets: What to expect from Isaiah Thomas
By Blake Holmes
The Denver Nuggets made one of the bigger steals this off-season in Isaiah Thomas.
Picking him up for the veteran’s minimum not only was that a good move, but there’s not much risk. What the Denver Nuggets got is an experienced, lethal scorer when healthy, and Isaiah Thomas got a chance to rejuvenate his career.
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That being said, many fans may not know how exactly the Nuggets plan to use IT. He may not get the opportunity to be the guy he was in Boston, but this is still a good chance for him.
Thomas will come off of the bench as the sixth man, he will not start barring an injury. Coach Malone has already told IT that Jamal Murray is the starting point guard. Not many coaches from around the NBA would have been able to get away with this, but Malone coaching Isaiah Thomas in their Sacramento Kings days certainly helped in this instance.
He will be in charge of handling a large portion of the scoring off of the bench as well. A bench which will need an experienced leader and a go to scorer down the stretch considering the second unit is composed of mostly young talent.
They won’t expect him to be a great defender, because they really don’t need him to be. The best comparison that I can give is the idea that he will have to take over Will Barton’s role from last year, just in a different position. Barton played as a shooting guard whereas Thomas will be the back up point guard as alluded to already.
IT will look to ball out for the Nuggets this year, and put his name back on the map. How do you do that, you may ask? Lead the second unit of this team to the postseason.