Nuggets' Will Barton raves about Isaiah Thomas' playoff mindset

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Isaiah Thomas' days of NBA playoff heroism are well behind him. But the veteran guard is still finding a way contribute, even if it's not on the court.

Thomas hasn't played a single minute in the Denver Nuggets' first-round series with the San Antonio Spurs. After Denver's Game 5 win Tuesday night. though, Nuggets guard Will Barton took considerable time out of his media session to discuss how Thomas has inspired the team.

Barton's struggles early in the series earned him a demotion to the second unit. But it's safe to say Thomas has it worse than Barton. At this time three years ago, the former All-Star was enjoying an incredible postseason run with the Boston Celtics. Two hip surgeries later, Thomas isn't even sniffing the court for the Nuggets.

Despite the brutal turn of events, though, Thomas is maintaining a positive outlook. Per The Athletic's Joe Vardon, the 30-year-old guard still goes through the exact same pregame shooting routine he did with the Celtics and even challenged a group of Spurs assistant coaches to a pickup game before Game 4.

"He’s an inspiration to me," Barton told Vardon. " ... He still cheers for us, he still works out every day and goes hard, so like I said, he’s motivation."

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