Isaiah Thomas is in position to have a resurgence because the Denver Nuggets run a similar system to when he was in Boston
"“He’s a ball dominant player.”"
According to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, this was said by Isaiah Thomas’ agent, Aaron Goodwin after he was traded from Cleveland to Los Angeles. This is not a new line of thinking as DraftExpress.com echoed similar sentiments before the 2011 draft.
According to the website, Isaiah developed a reputation in college of over-dribbling at times.
Isaiah’s need to have the basketball has resulted in a career full of peaks and valleys. For instance, his first taste of success came during the 2013-14 season with the Sacramento Kings as he touched the ball 84.5 times per game. In fact, he averaged 20.3 points per game with 6.3 assists per game.
Unfortunately, Isaiah was unable to maintain that level of play the following season as he signed with the Suns who already had two incumbent guards in Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. Consequently, he had to spend more time off the ball in a spot up shooter/bystander role. For instance, Thomas would stand in one of the corners and watch Dragic call for a screen to initiate the pick and roll.
Playing off the ball contributed to a significant decline in touches as he went from 84.5 to 60.4. The decrease in touches had a dramatic effect on his statistics as he averaged 5.1 fewer points and 2.6 fewer assists than the previous season.
Isaiah’s stint in Phoenix didn’t last long as he was traded to Boston after 46 games. The Boston Celtics gave Thomas the opportunity to recapture the success he experienced with the Kings as head coach Brad Stevens decided to put the ball in his hands. Brad Stevens chose to implement a dribble handoff system to accomplish this goal.
For example, Isaiah would dribble the basketball up to the 3-point line and passed the ball to the closest teammate. Once this happened, the teammate would turn sideways and hold the basketball until Isaiah retrieved the ball. Thomas would proceed to use his teammate’s body as a screen to initiate the pick and roll.
After that happened, Isaiah would pay attention to his defender to determine the course of action. If the defender stays under the screen, he would either shoot the ball immediately or go over the screen to shoot a mid-range jumper. If the defender fought over the screen, he would go over it as well and drive towards the basket to score or pass the basketball depending on whether a double team comes.
The Celtics ranked second in dribble handoff possessions in back-to-back seasons (2015-16 and 2016-17). The system contributed to a massive increase in touches as he averaged 84.85 touches (84.6+ 85.1 /2) over two full seasons in Boston. The increase in touches helped Thomas recapture and surpass the success he had with Sacramento averaging 25.5 points per game with 6.1 assists per game.
However, Isaiah Thomas’s success was once again short-lived as he spent the 2017-18 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. Isaiah’s time in Cleveland and Los Angeles played out similarly to his tenure in Phoenix as he spent more time off the ball.
For example, he would stand on the wing or one of the corners in a spot up shooter/bystander role as LeBron James or a Laker teammate handled the ball. The change in role once again caused a dramatic decline in his touches as he went from 84.85 to 56.8.
Fortunately, one could argue that Isaiah is about to hit another upswing in his career as he signed with the Denver Nuggets this offseason. The Nuggets currently run an offensive system centered around the dribble handoff. In fact, they were ranked within the top five in dribble handoff possessions for two straight seasons (2016-17 and 2017-18).
Therefore, Isaiah is in position to recapture some of his success if head coach Mike Malone can follow Brad Stevens’s blueprint to include Thomas on most handoffs when he is on the court.