In this edition of the Thunder mailbag, we take a look at how OKC will use Isaiah Joe down the stretch.

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@wendellsjr_: What did you make of Isaiah Joe’s minutes starting in the second half against LAC? Do you think that could work longterm?

Isaiah Joe was necessary in that third quarter that acted as the boulder that dismembered the Clippers. The offense was fluid, the defense was physical and held its own. He was well featured in all of that.

When Holmgren’s pick-and-pop gravity drew a second defender, Joe timed a perfect cut for a two-hand slam. When defenders collapsed on Chet Holmgren for dropping Paul George with a single dribble, there Joe was again. Running the floor, launching 3s that rip away hope.

Could he fit as a starter long term? Of course. Is it logical to insert him in the starting lineup? The pros probably don’t outweigh the cons.

Very little of the equation has to do with Joe’s talent. These questions always pull Josh Giddey, whose role fans have questioned for months, to the forefront. It helps that the net ratings of lineups with Joe — specifically lineups with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Joe — have been fruitful. It’s not so helpful that Giddey has looked and been treated like a different player than he was in his first couple seasons.

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Send Giddey to the bench for Joe and you risk diminishing his remaining confidence. Insert Joe into the starting lineup and you risk potentially limiting him in the relatively dull starting minutes (which aren’t completely Giddey’s fault).

SGA’s most concentrated antidote to the plethora of double teams and three-defender scenarios and defensive walls has been Joe. Say Joe does start, which isn’t as important as closing. He likely isn’t there for the lineups to close the first that feel so devastating for opposing teams.

Not to mention the idea people have of Giddey as a bench playmaker isn’t totally additive. The idea takes creator touches away from Jalen Williams, who has blossomed when leading the offense to open the second and fourth quarter. Given how little Giddey’s been thrust into the role this season, that vision seemingly isn’t shared by the Thunder either. OKC had the chance to do it five minutes into the second quarter in Orlando just before the break.

It was a small sample. Williams was briefly removed from the game after an apparent injury. For a few minutes, Giddey was the only initiator on the floor. And outside of a couple signature push shots in transition, he hardly received the ball. Actions weren’t run through him. Possessions weren’t decided by him. It’s difficult to make that decision midgame, but it feels like by now, OKC wants to firmly get him adjusted to the positions in which rational teams will continue to guard him. Using him as a cutter and screener and secondary passer all fits into that mold.

We obviously don’t have these conversations about Joe. He’s been one of the Thunder’s better system players, a marksman who leaps for stunning rebounds, whose 3-pointers can alter the course of a game. But a 1-for-1 swap just isn’t that simple.

Riding momentum and playing him to start a half is viable on a game-by-game basis. It’s even reasonable to close a game with him. But starting a game with him just has fewer benefits.

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To make future editions of the mailbag, email questions to jlorenzi@oklahoman.com or message him on Twitter @jxlorenzi.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder guard Isaiah Joe in perfect role for NBA title contender