No. 2: Isaiah Thomas
The Lakers acquired Isaiah Thomas from the Cleveland Cavaliers in a deadline deal. Since arriving in Los Angeles, he has been okay. His performance has been better than it was with the Cavaliers, but nowhere near the level, he played at with the Boston Celtics when he was in the MVP running last season.
Thomas is unlikely to reach that MVP-caliber level, but the Lakers need him to improve, especially with Hart sidelined. With Hart out, Thomas will undoubtedly see his minutes increase. He is averaging 22.7 minutes per game, and that could move closer to 25-28 without Hart being in the lineup.
Thomas and Hart aren’t similar players at all. However, Thomas will be counted on to help replace those minutes. His scoring prowess will be needed, as the Lakers defense will take a hit without Hart in the lineup. They are hoping that drop in defense can be evened out with an increase in offensive production.
Thus far with the Lakers Thomas is averaging 13.2 points on 39.3 percent shooting and 31.3 percent from deep. He is adding 4.3 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game. Those numbers have to improve if the Lakers want to continue their success without Hart.
This will be an important stretch of games for Thomas. The impending free agent was hoping to land a max contract this summer. That looks unlikely at this point, but helping the Lakers win some games down the stretch and helping replace Hart could go a long way to changing that.