the Tristan Thompson panic button

Harper4Ferry? · Post #1 » by **Harper4Ferry?** » Sat Dec 8, 2012 3:56 am

First of all, none of the garbage woulda coulda shoulda drafted this guy crap. Until Gilbert funds time travel and we change picks in a parallel dimension, we are stuck with him.

What's going on here? It looks like we're stuck with a 8/9th rotation player at this point. He doesn't look to be a starter in this league.

Hopefully we don't have him pencil'd in as the PF for the next decade.

SaiCLE · Post #2 » by **SaiCLE** » Sat Dec 8, 2012 4:17 am

I'm usually the one to defend him, but seriously I really do not see this guy being more than 4th big man off the bench. I can't defend him anymore, he is constantly getting blocked, he is 6 foot 9 with a large wingspan and he plays like he is 5 foot tall. What did Grant see in him.

I hope he improves and prove me wrong, but for now I can't defend him anymore. Kevin Jones looked better

Dupp · Post #3 » by **Dupp** » Sat Dec 8, 2012 7:10 am

He seriously looks worse than last season. At least offensively. He flat out just can't play with the ball in his hands.

Post #4 » by **Rise Against** » Sat Dec 8, 2012 11:15 am

I am a bit concerned as well.. A lot of times, it seems like he makes zero difference when he is on the floor. He brings more negatives than he does positives. I would have expected him to flourish without Kyrie and Waiters, but that's not what we have seen. All I can say is he is definitely not playing like a 4th overall pick.

Post #5 » by **B Mac** » Sat Dec 8, 2012 2:58 pm

On the bright side, it could have been Derrick Williams, Jan Vesely, Bismack Biyombo, Kemba Walker, Jimmer Fredette, etc...

Just such a horrible draft. Now imagine if we hadnt made the Baron Davis trade and not got the 1st pick with the Clippers selection.

Still, Tristan is very young and has time to grow, but at this rate he doesnt give you a lot of reasons to be thrilled with his potential.

shazam · Post #6 » by **shazam** » Sat Dec 8, 2012 3:50 pm

Yeah he does not look like the 4 of the future. He has no jump shot nor do not think he will with his ugly release,still gets blocked all the time and if he cannot dunk or get a 2 foot toss up is all but worthless offensively and does not cause the Defense to defend him at all 10 feet or more from the basket, so basically, I think in this draft as well as needing a SF they can add a PF to that mix as well. TT may be dealt once his contract is up, I do not see the Cavs paying big bucks for a player who is not living up to expectations or showing any real improvements at this point.

rjgraca · Post #7 » by **rjgraca** » Sat Dec 8, 2012 7:06 pm

I too am kind of disappointed with Tristan Thompson's play, but not having someone to create or set-up plays even hurt Varejao last night against the Wolves. Heck, that Sanders guy didn't break out until his third season (this season) for the Bucks. If the Cav's want to be true to an actual rebuild, they need to exercise patience with players like Thompson. A lot of young players don't get the calls from the refs until their third season in the league... it's not fair, but that is they way the NBA has been under Stern's leadership.

Kaner · Post #8 » by **Kaner** » Sun Dec 9, 2012 12:02 am

rjgraca wrote:I too am kind of disappointed with Tristan Thompson's play, but not having someone to create or set-up plays even hurt Varejao last night against the Wolves. Heck, that Sanders guy didn't break out until his third season (this season) for the Bucks. If the Cav's want to be true to an actual rebuild, they need to exercise patience with players like Thompson. A lot of young players don't get the calls from the refs until their third season in the league... it's not fair, but that is they way the NBA has been under Stern's leadership.

Well said. It would be incredibly hypocritical for a rebuilding team to give up on a #4 pick so soon, ESPECIALLY considering they knew going in how big of a project he was going to be. Does it suck watching other sophomores put up better numbers? Sure. But he's not holding this team back, by any means. If we fill up the roster with talent, and TT is the obvious weak link, then yeah- we can talk. But look at 23 year old Ibaka, he just recently developed a nice midrange game last year at 22. TT is 21, he's shown a nice niche for rebounding, and is a very hard working kid. Lets give him the benefit of the doubt, we're all a little impatient because we were spoiled by being a perrenial deep playoff team for a few years there.

Niko23 · Post #9 » by **Niko23** » Sun Dec 9, 2012 2:45 am

Few things

1. Irving injury is hurting his development
2. AV and TT starting kills our spacing and he is floating around much more this year without much purpose
3. They never post him up - EVER.....run a play for the guy
4. They never pass him the ball on screen and roll.

I have been disappointed with his play this year as well, but lets start involving him in the offense

gflem · Post #10 » by **gflem** » Sun Dec 9, 2012 5:09 pm

Two atricles in the wiretap about Vessly and Val not setting the world on fire either. But all the criticism is on the mark for TT. He would be a better fit with Zeller on the floor than with Andy. The thing I notice most about TT is how he continually mishandles the ball, whether on rebounds, loose balls or even going up with a shot.
Does he have small hands? I dont recall from the draft if it was noted that he had small hands or not. He gets off the floor quickly even on his second jump, maybe that is what Grant saw in him, along with a good motor and a willingness to work. But he doesnt seem to know what to do with the ball, whether to use pump fakes, pivot away from pressure or when to drop step to an open area to get away from pressure. I wonder if he ever even thinks about passing out to the wing when he gets in trouble down low. All this would seem to indicate a low bball IQ, at least offensively.

Geaux_Hawks · Post #11 » by **Geaux_Hawks** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 7:17 am

B Mac wrote:On the bright side, it could have been Derrick Williams, Jan Vesely, Bismack Biyombo, Kemba Walker, Jimmer Fredette, etc...

Just such a horrible draft. Now imagine if we hadnt made the Baron Davis trade and not got the 1st pick with the Clippers selection.

Still, Tristan is very young and has time to grow, but at this rate he doesnt give you a lot of reasons to be thrilled with his potential.

In defense of some of those guys, I think all of them would still have been a better pick than TT. Williams is obviously in a bad situation. Assuming you only take Kemba or Jimmer if you don't pick Irving, Kemba would easily be a better pick, while Jimmer could benefit not being in Sacramento. Biyombo is probably the same level project as TT, but he's got more upside imo. At least Vesely had a great combo of size and athleticism, had a better jumper and offensive game, and still gave the same effort and energy as TT. Vesely actually looked pretty decent playing with Wall. Definitely started the season off good last year. Cleveland taking TT was mind bogglin to me. I never like the pick, and not even a fan.

kiwibrindle · Post #12 » by **kiwibrindle** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 2:49 pm

He needs work so send him to the D league. He should understand he's a bright kid. I'd rather see Zeller and Jones

Geaux_Hawks · Post #13 » by **Geaux_Hawks** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 3:05 pm

B Mac wrote:On the bright side, it could have been Derrick Williams, Jan Vesely, Bismack Biyombo, Kemba Walker, Jimmer Fredette, etc...

Just such a horrible draft. Now imagine if we hadnt made the Baron Davis trade and not got the 1st pick with the Clippers selection.

Still, Tristan is very young and has time to grow, but at this rate he doesnt give you a lot of reasons to be thrilled with his potential.

In defense of some of those guys, I think all of them would still have been a better pick than TT. Williams is obviously in a bad situation. Assuming you only take Kemba or Jimmer if you don't pick Irving, Kemba would easily be a better pick, while Jimmer could benefit not being in Sacramento. Biyombo is probably the same level project as TT, but he's got more upside imo. At least Vesely had a great combo of size and athleticism, had a better jumper and offensive game, and still gave the same effort and energy as TT. Vesely actually looked pretty decent playing with Wall. Definitely started the season off good last year. Cleveland taking TT was mind bogglin to me. I never like the pick, and not even a fan.

SaiCLE · Post #14 » by **SaiCLE** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 8:42 pm

Geaux_Hawks wrote:
B Mac wrote:On the bright side, it could have been Derrick Williams, Jan Vesely, Bismack Biyombo, Kemba Walker, Jimmer Fredette, etc...

Just such a horrible draft. Now imagine if we hadnt made the Baron Davis trade and not got the 1st pick with the Clippers selection.

Still, Tristan is very young and has time to grow, but at this rate he doesnt give you a lot of reasons to be thrilled with his potential.

In defense of some of those guys, I think all of them would still have been a better pick than TT. Williams is obviously in a bad situation. Assuming you only take Kemba or Jimmer if you don't pick Irving, Kemba would easily be a better pick, while Jimmer could benefit not being in Sacramento. Biyombo is probably the sa
me level project as TT, but he's got more upside imo. At least Vesely had a great combo of size and athleticism, had a better jumper and offensive game, and still gave the same effort and energy as TT. Vesely actually looked pretty decent playing with Wall. Definitely started the season off good last year. Cleveland taking TT was mind bogglin to me. I never like the pick, and not even a fan.

To be honest the only the guys that are better than Tigger is Kemba, The rest are highly debatable.
-Biyombo Is decent but he has been quiet, I kinda see Tigger on the same level.
-Jan Vesely is a scrub. Don't believe me ask Wizard fans or go on the Wizard board.
-Derrick Williams is simply a scrub. He got his chance when Love went out, couldn't even stay in the rotation.
-Jimmer sucks. His only real quality is a spot up shooter, too damn small to do any thing else, and can't even handle the rock. Other than that Tigger still frustrates the hell out of me to no end, I think he might be the wrong pick...Damn 2011.....

Kaner · Post #15 » by **Kaner** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 9:38 pm

who the hell is Tigger

mg · Post #16 » by mg » Mon Dec 10, 2012 9:59 pm

Based on his defense and rebounding alone Tristan will be in the League for a long time even if it's just as a 3rd big. Yes he's regressed this season but alot of it has to do with the fact he's not playing with Jamison who used to hang out on the perimeter which in turn moved one of the defending bigs out of the paint. TT is just so raw offensively he can't operate at all when the paint is crowded. He needs to be paired with an offensive big but unfortunately the Cavs currently don't have such a player on their roster although Zeller is showing some promise. Just for the sake of floor spacing I would probably start Zeller over TT at this time. Varejao, TT, and Gee might be the most offensively challenged frontcourt in the League outside of possibly Charlotte.

Also AV is healthy this season and is grabbing rebounds that TT would've gotten to last year.

Just having a competent big man coach teach TT better fundamentals not to mention teach him to stop doing that annoying gathering motion before shooting will go a long way to helping him score in the paint. At worse he's a 3rd big who can defend PF's and also has the reach to defend C's so I wouldn't label him a bust compared to some of the other guys drafted in 2011 but offensively the Cavs must be a little disappointed with TT's progress so far. A guy who ultimately becomes your first big off the bench isn't really the ideal outcome for the 4th pick in the draft. He's still very young and would only be a junior if he stayed in school so it's way too early to give up on him.

Geaux_Hawks · Post #17 » by **Geaux_Hawks** » Tue Dec 11, 2012 6:44 pm

SaiCLE wrote:To be honest the only the guys that are better than Tigger is Kemba, The rest are highly debatable.
-Biyombo Is decent but he has been quiet, I kinda see Tigger on the same level.
-Jan Vesely is a scrub. Don't believe me ask Wizard fans or go on the Wizard board.
-Derrick Williams is simply a scrub. He got his chance when Love went out, couldn't even stay in the rotation.
-Jimmer sucks. His only real quality is a spot up shooter, too damn small to do any thing else, and can't even handle the rock. Other than that Tigger still frustrates the hell out of me to no end, I think he might be the wrong pick...Damn 2011.....

I'll give you Jimmer and Jan Vesely, but Derrick Williams isn't just a scrub. He's got way better skills than TT does. Like I said, he isn't in a good situation in Minny. Love was going to take he spot back regardless. You can't give the starting jobs to a guy for a hand full of games, and expect instant impact. Derrick Williams doesn't even get 20 minutes per game, and he has similar if not better numbers than TT. Williams on another team would give him the chance to be at least a quality starter. TT seems to be no better than a 3rd big/occasional starter.

Harper4Ferry? · Post #18 » by **Harper4Ferry?** » Wed Dec 12, 2012 2:40 am

1 point in 34 minutes. That's impact.

rjgraca · Post #19 » by **rjgraca** » Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:08 pm

TT also had 10 rebounds. The Cavs drafted TT as a replacement for Varejao since I believe that it is pretty obvious that the Cavs will trade Varejao for some good rebuilding pieces by the trading deadline. The Cavs got Varejao with a lot of international experience and he was offensively challenged when he first joined the Cavs.
I am not saying that TT will reach Varejao's level, but as a rebuilding team the Cavs need to be patient and see if his raw talent can be translated into a Varejao type player.

Roger Murdock · Post #20 » by **Roger Murdock** » Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:58 pm

I actually think TT did a good job in last nights game. He was good on defense on both Jamison and Dwight.