Denver Nuggets: 3 big questions following 2019 NBA All-Star break

3. Will Isaiah Thomas be able to contribute?

After missing over two-thirds of the season, Isaiah Thomas was finally able to make his 2018-19 debut. He didn’t do anything particularly spectacular, as he scored eight points in 13 minutes, but he did show some flashes that could be pointing to him being able to take on a more prominent role down the stretch and into the playoffs. The team doesn’t really have a microwave scorer that can come in and put up points in a hurry, which is something Thomas was able to do pre-injury.

Approaching the trade deadline, there wasn’t a clear return set for Thomas which could have led to them targeting a point guard. They avoided that move, and they got him back. However, there is no way of knowing what type of level he will be playing at. He likely won’t be able to play a heavy workload like 25-30 minutes per game, but the team would love for him to come off the bench as the primary scorer for their second unit.

If Thomas re-injures his hip or just isn’t able to play as he did before the injury, that would make the signing of Thomas somewhat of a waste. The Nuggets’ offense is at its best when Jokic is feeding cutters all around him, but they could use another way of generating offense to give him a breather. Thomas can be just that.