We need a Tristan Thompson

We already have Thompson on our team.... His name is Noah Vonleh.

Stats are very similar for when they were both 20yr old. Very similar body types/styles too.

 

Good post.

And, since the Blazers already have a couple of key players who some would say tend to be non-defenders...how many can we really have on the floor at a time?

 

Kevin Love?

 

We've all got a "thing." You obsess over international players. I get annoyed when the game isn't called fairly. To each their own.

 

Eh - I guess we can live in hope. But I don't really see the similarity: Thompson was already MUCH better at steals, blocks and ORBs. And Vonleh is a good deal less nimble than Thompson.

 

Do we? I think what we really need are some good too way players. Thompson looks great playing next to LeBron, but he's really more of a specialist who lacks an all around game. Take away LeBron and Thompson is pretty ordinary (as his career PER 15.3 indicates).

We already have a poor man's Tristan Thompson on a MUCH better contract in Ed Davis (something tells me Ed would look pretty damn good playing next to LeBron, too).

Rather than upgrade our role players, I'd like to see us get one, or two, two way players to upgrade our starting line up. We need a 3rd reliable scorer and a big man who can defend the pick and roll. Thompson gives us the latter, but someone like Al Horford gives us both.

BNM

 

Again, I think you're undervaluing defense. Thompson is an ELITE rebounder (in terms of % gathered) and basically does EVERYTHING except shoot jump shots. He's a better version of Hassan Whiteside because he's actually a better defender than he looks (rather than worse) and Whiteside is going to get a ridiculous contract. Why is he a "role player"? Is CJ a "role player"? Because he has more holes in his game than Thompson does.

Also, what's with this "3rd reliable scorer" business? If your first two options are struggling it's because the D is loading up on them. If that isn't giving one of the other three players open shots then you need a new coach more than anything else. The "3rd reliable scorer" is THE REST OF THE FUCKING TEAM.

 

He's not an elite rebounder. His career TRB% is 17.1. That's above average but not close to elite. You need to be up around TRB = 20 to be considered an elite rebounder. Hassan Whiteside has a career TRB% of 23.7. That's elite. Even Ed Davis is slightly better than TT for his career at TRB% = 17.3, but over the last two seasons, playing the most minutes of his NBA career, he's been at 20.0 and 18.7. That's much closer to elite rebounding that anything TT has done. And, Davis is here, wants to be here and is on a much cheaper contract.

There are multiple reason's we need a 3rd reliable scorer.

First, we need someone to pick up the slack on nights when one of Dame or C.J. are having a bad shooting night. That's not always the result of the other team playing great defense. We've all seen what a streaky shooter Dame can be (some would say feast or famine). When one of your top 2 is having an off night, a reliable 3rd scorer can keep you in the game.

Second, a reliable 3rd scorer would make it more difficult for teams to lock down Dame and C.J. It would change the way other teams game plan for us, especially in the playoffs. Without a reliable 3rd option, teams game plan to camp down on Dame and C.J. and hope nobody else beats them. Aminu comes up huge about once per series, but that's because other teams leave him wide fucking open. Having a reliable 3rd scorer makes it harder for teams to focus their game plan on just stopping Dame and C.J. That makes life easier for them and I'd rather have them have to work less hard for their shots than depend on Aminu to get hot and knock down some open shots once every 5 games.

Third, a reliable 3rd scorer is insurance against injury. Injuries are part of the game. They happen to all teams eventually. Having a proven 3rd scorer, who can step up and get you 20 points a night when needed is something every championship caliber teams needs. Without it and you lose one key player at the wrong time and your season is over. Having that 3rd scorer helps weather the injuries without sinking your season waiting for someone to get healthy.

So ideally, I'd prefer adding a player that gives us both improved defense and a reliable 3rd scorer. That's why I placed Horford, Butler and Millsap at the top of my list. They may cost more than TT, (who isn't even available, so I don't know why we're talking about him specifically), but they would give us more of what we need than he would. Whiteside is my 4th option because he would improve our defense and is an elite rebounder. Plus, he's more likely to be available than Tristan Thompson. Availability factors in at least as much as fit. Without it, my list would be LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry.

BNM

 

The only thing that makes Thompson unreliable as a scorer is his FT shooting. He rarely takes a shot that isn't a dunk, and he's always aggressively crashing the glass, so he's actually quite reliable in the sense that you have to pay close attention to him at all times.

I never watched him play prior to LeBron returning to Cleveland and don't know if he's changed for the better as a result. I don't see how anyone can deny that he's currently an elite rebounder, though. He was so good last year, he made Draymond Groin look ordinary.

 

You only need to pay close attention to him on defense when he's within 3 feet of the basket. His average FG distance is 2.4 feet. Nearly 70% of his FGA were within 3 feet of the basket, his FG% goes down to .413 once he's more than 3 feet from the basket. He doesn't even have a reliable 4 foot jump shot, let alone a midrange game.

Just going by the numbers, he's a good, but not elite rebounder. One playoff series, when the other team is missing their starting center, is not a reliable indication of elite status. He did most of his damage in the GSW series when Bogut was out (Bogut only played 60 minutes in the series). Sure he made Draymond Green look like an ordinary rebounder. He is. Green has a good all around game, but his 14.7 TRB% is pretty average, even slightly below average, for a starting PF. When the other team is missing their starting center and playing an average rebounding PF at center, you better dominate the boards.

Without Whiteside, Bismack Biyombo looked like the second coming of Bill Russell in that TOR/MIA series. Is he? Fuck no, but he's a better rebounder than Thompson.

BNM

 

That was my point. He knows his game well and is always near the basket, either looking for the lob or the rebound-dunk. If you don't glue one or two players to him at all times, you'll find him putting up pretty "reliable" numbers.

 

Thonpson reminds me of the basic cable version of AD

 

That's hyperbole if I've ever heard it and not at all backed up by actual stats, raw or advanced. He's never finished higher than 16th in the league in TRB%. He's only cracked the top 10 in total rebounds once (9th in 2012-13) and he's never even averaged 10 rpg in his career (his best was 9.4 rpg also in 2012-13 when he finished 13th).

There are plenty of guys who are both lighter and better rebounders, but if a comment made in a tweet is your "proof", oh well, I guess you win... I guess maybe Rick forgot he's seen guys like Dennis Rodman and Ben Wallace, or even Ed Davis and Kenneth Faried

BNM

 

You can pretty much say that about any NBA player. You have to guard EVERYBODY within 3 feet of the basket. Being able to dunk the ball when no one is guarding you is not my idea of a reliable 3rd scorer. Ed Davis averages more points and rebounds per 36 minutes, shoots a higher FG% and costs less than half what Thompson does.

Thompson benefits from playing with LeBron, almost never shoots further than 3 ft. for the basket (for good reason) and still only averages 7.8 ppg. That's not my idea of the kind of dynamic 3rd scorer this team needs to take us to the next level.

BNM

 

Yes, great offensive rebounder, but not much better than average for his position overall.

Davis REALLY improved his pick-and-roll defense as the season wore on. It was an area of focus for him and he improved a lot.

BNM

 

No, because very few chase the offensive rebounds as relentlessly as Thompson. I'm not sure I've ever even seen him tip the ball out. He's always looking to go straight up at the rim. It's not pretty basketball, but it puts a lot of pressure on the interior defense.

That's a key element in the eye test vs advanced stats, for sure. He's probably less effective on the defensive glass because he's such a versatile defender, they're asking him to cover a lot of different guys.

 

An exhaustive analysis of Thompson's rebounding.