Denver Nuggets: How will Isaiah Thomas fit in next year?

How he fits

One of the perks for the Nuggets bringing in Isaiah Thomas is that he knows what his role is on the team.

Denver isn’t asking IT to be its leading scorer or the second star next to Nikola Jokic. It’s going to have him come off the bench as an instant-offense type of threat, something he’s proven capable of early on in his career.

This is not to say Isaiah won’t be able to contribute to the Nuggets’ quest for the playoffs. As the unofficial sixth man, the burden will fall on IT to lead the second unit and provide scoring off the pine.

There will almost certainly be games in which the Nuggets’ offense sputters out of the gate, prompting a sub for Thomas followed by a scoring binge that keeps Denver from a sizable deficit.

It may not be the starting role he’s grown accustomed to having, but Thomas will have plenty of chances that could directly lead to a win or a loss for his new team.

When it comes to judging Isaiah on the court, many people are quick to point out his lack of prowess on the defensive end, and rightfully so, because with such diminutive size, Thomas has trouble staying in front of his opponent.

The beauty of this Nuggets squad though, is that in Gary Harris, Denver could provide cover for IT, similar to how Klay Thompson usually guards the opposing team’s best perimeter guy while Stephen Curry takes the lesser of the two.

For the league’s 26th-ranked defense last year, Thomas’ flaws on that end aren’t going to make matters that much worse. As long as he can score and boost the Nuggets’ top-10 offense, that’ll be all that matters.