How Isaiah Thomas Can Lead The Hornets Through The Playoffs

The Charlotte Hornets have clinched a postseason berth for the second time in as many seasons. With a resounding defeat of the New York Knicks, the Swarm are locked into competing for the Larry O’Brien Trophy this season. With many young, talented players on the roster, one of the team’s few veterans will have to step up and lead this team to the postseason.

Isaiah Thomas has had an up-and-down past few seasons. This year alone he has been signed to numerous 10-day contracts by a trio of NBA teams. Now that he has found a rest-of-season home in Charlotte, IT is going to need to be a leader on this team if they want to make a postseason run.

As a key piece of the Boston Celtics’ 2017 Eastern Conference Finals appearance, Thomas averaged 25.4 points per game and 6.5 assists per game in the first two rounds of the playoffs. In the Conference Finals, IT got hurt just 56 minutes into the series and only appeared in two of the five games.

In the two non-injured rounds, Thomas put the Celtics on his back and carried them into title contention. While he is five years old and not the All-Star player he used to be, Thomas can still lead this Hornets team into the postseason.

Although he is not expected to average 20 points or dish 10 assists every night, Thomas is the anchor of the second unit and provides solid backup minutes behind LaMelo Ball. With the superstar point guard on the bench, the Swarm can rest easy because they know they have a playoff-tested point guard to replace him.

If the Hornets want to make a serious run this postseason, IT is going to have to be one of the guys to get them over the hump. Even if it is as simple as providing mental toughness during a grueling best-of-seven series, IT has made multiple playoff runs in his career and should be a pillar in the locker room for a young, hungry Hornets team.