Los Angeles Lakers: How to integrate Isaiah Thomas into the lineup

Isaiah Coming Off the Bench

There was some initial drama involving whether Isaiah would start for the Lakers. Magic Johnson, Rob Pelinka, and Luke Walton immediately responded. They all insisted that Lonzo Ball will be the starting point guard when he is healthy, and that Isaiah will start off coming off the bench while Lonzo is out.

Isaiah seems fine with this, so that is good. What is interesting to monitor is the impact that it will have on Josh Hart’s minutes. Hart was on fire leading up to Isaiah’s arrival, averaging 13.5 PPG and 11.0 RPG in the Lakers’ prior 4 game winning streak. He had 29 minutes on Saturday, which was less than the 34.5 MPG he averaged in the winning streak.

It would probably be wise to get Hart in there a little more and cut into Isaiah’s minutes. Hart is better defensively, and if they were on the court together he would cover Isaiah on the defensive end.

Either way, Isaiah shouldn’t worry about coming off the bench. If he is scoring the way that he was on Saturday, the Lakers will need him. Jordan Clarkson was a big scorer for the Lakers, and IT has to replace that. His minutes will still be as high, if not higher than most of the starters. With that being said, it’ll be interesting how Isaiah handles the bench role and how he impacts Josh Hart’s minutes going forward.