Nuggets Film Room: Inside Isaiah Thomas' first three games in Denver

Eleven months of anticipation and speculation finally came to an end Feb. 13 when Isaiah Thomas traded in his street clothes for a Nuggets jersey and made his Denver debut playing 13 minutes in a 120-118 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Thomas has now played three games with the Nuggets and while he’s shown a fair amount of rust, something that was expected for someone who was sidelined for nearly a full calendar year, he’s already made a substantial impact for Denver on the court.

Here’s what to take away from his first three games.

The Thomas-Plumlee two-man game will be a focal point of the Nuggets’ second unit

In Boston during the 2016-17 season — the last time he was healthy prior to his debut earlier this month — Thomas was among the most dangerous guards in the league when operating out of the pick-and-roll. In 2017, Thomas was the lead ball handler in the eighth-most pick-and-rolls in the league and the 1.04 points per possession he averaged when put in that action placed him in the 94th percentile league-wide.

So it’s no surprise that with Denver’s second unit, Thomas has already seen a steady diet of screens sent his way. His most popular partner in those actions has been Mason Plumlee, who Thomas has already developed a promising chemistry with. In 53 minutes, I have Thomas down as the lead ball handler in a combined 34 pick-and-rolls and dribble-hand-offs through three games. Twenty-nine of those plays I tracked came with Plumlee as the big man who he’s run the action with.

Three of Plumlee’s 11 field goals across the last three games came via a Thomas assists.

Plumlee is a perfect partner for Thomas in these types of actions. He’s one of the most athletic centers in the league and can corral most lobs thrown his way, even ones that would be out of reach for most big men. Plumlee is also one of Denver’s best screen setters and can help give Thomas the separation he needs from his defender when the point guard brushes off his big.

Plumlee is having a career-year off the bench for the Nuggets, averaging 8.2 points while shooting 62 percent from the field, the 28-year-old’s highest mark since his rookie season. He’s also shooting 71 percent at the rim, also the highest percentage Plumlee has shot from that distance since his first NBA season, a mark that places him in the 81st percentile league-wide.

Thirty-two of Thomas’ 53 minutes over the last three games have come with Plumlee also on the court. It’s a combination Denver likes on both offense and defense, and for good reason. Denver’s backup five-man should get plenty of more easy looks over the remainder of the season playing alongside Thomas.

Of course, there’s still a lot of rust coating Thomas’ floor game.

But he’s also flashed a bit when creating for himself. The Thomas-Plumlee two-man game will likely be a go-to set for Denver’s second unit.

So far, Thomas has relied on his three-point shot

With Boston in 2017, roughly 44 percent of Thomas’ field goal attempts were 3s. Across 32 games with the Cavaliers and Lakers last season, roughly 45 percent of his field goals came from beyond the arc. Through three games with Denver, he’s upped his three-point rate.

Thomas has attempted a total of 28 field goals in three games. Seventeen of them, or 61 percent of his shots, have come from beyond the arc.

Here are his six makes. It’s notable that four of them came in transition when naturally the defense isn’t as set. The transition three is a shot Thomas has looked for often throughout his career.

Thomas hasn’t been shy since returning from injury. His 19.1 field goal attempts per 36 minutes ranks first on the Nuggets, well ahead of Jokic who’s averaging 17.4 field goals per 36. Through three games, Thomas also has a 26.7 usage percentage — second on Denver behind only Jokic (27.3 percent).

For the most part, his jumper looks good. At times he’s lacked some lift, which is understandable coming off his injury.

He should regain his timing and rhythm with more game reps.

It will be worth monitoring if Thomas’ usage rate drops as he gets more playing time. Overall, the 35.6 percent he’s shooting from three — a healthy percentage considering how long Thomas spent away from the game — is an encouraging sign.

The Nuggets have played well on defense with Thomas on the floor

It’s the first question that comes to mind when thinking about the impact Thomas will have on a team: how will you cover for his defense? When Thomas logged 34 minutes per game for Boston in 2016-17, the Celtics were the 14th-ranked defense in the league and gave up 109.5 points per 100 possessions when Thomas was on the floor but only 98.9 points per 100 possessions when he was on the bench. The numbers say Boston was a poor defense with Thomas and a great one without him.

So far, the Nuggets have found a way to play quality defense with Thomas and through three games Denver is giving up on average just 93.7 points per 100 possessions with him on the court.

One reason why the Nuggets have been a stingy defense so far with Thomas is that they’ve made a point to surround him with plus-defenders. Gary Harris, who’s come off the bench in his first two games back from an adductor strain and played almost exclusively with Denver’s second unit, has been on the court with Thomas for 33 of his 53 minutes. Plumlee, the Nuggets’ best rim protector, has spent 32 minutes on the floor already alongside Thomas and Denver’s most-used bench lineup with Thomas (Monte Morris, who’s played alongside Thomas the most on the Nuggets’ roster, Harris, Paul Millsap and Plumlee) have limited their opponent to just 6-20 shooting in 11.6 total minutes.

Of course, there’s a lot of noise to that small sample size. Against the Mavericks, Dallas tried to manufacture a switch that placed Thomas on the 6-foot-8 Justin Jackson all game. The Mavericks posted Jackson up, isolated him against Thomas on the wing and made a point to go at Denver’s 5-foot-9 reserve guard on most possessions, something Michael Malone expected would happen and from the sounds of it is OK with. The Nuggets sent an adequate amount of help Thomas’ way, but Jackson isn’t the type of offensive option that keeps you up at night even when going against Thomas. Jackson finished the game 0-7 from the field. Many of his attempts went like this.

The Clippers couldn’t find any success against Denver’s bench either and a stout defensive performance that limited L.A. to 96 points on only 35 percent shooting helped the Nuggets’ numbers with Thomas on the floor too. Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Oklahoma City will provide a different kind of test for the Nuggets’ defense with Thomas, however.

Final thoughts

Maybe the biggest takeaway from Thomas’ first three games in a Nuggets uniform is that he can still heat up in a hurry. Thomas had eight points in a three-minute spurt in his debut against the Kings and 16 points in 16 minutes in Dallas.

If his first 50-plus minutes are an indication of what’s to come, Thomas will be the focal point of the Nuggets’ second unit and if he averages around 20 minutes over Denver’s final 23 games of the season, he’ll likely average well into double-digit points. Thomas’ efficiency might not be what it was in Boston in 2017 when he shot 46 percent from the field, but the teammates he’ll play alongside in Denver are a much higher caliber of player than he was on the floor with as a member of both the Cavaliers and Lakers. He should get plenty of open looks if he’s patient enough within the ebbs and flows of the Nuggets’ offense. Defensively, it’s probably too early to tell how Denver will fare on that end of the floor over the next two months.

With the Nuggets’ bench unit, Thomas should be able to team with Plumlee to form a potent pick-and-roll combination, one that should improve as the two get more accustomed to playing with one another. It’s an action that Denver will be able to use to its advantage throughout the rest of the regular season against overmatched opposing bench units, and most of all in the playoffs, when Thomas’ role and responsibilities could expand.