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Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard

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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#381 » by Mojo Amok » Sat Aug 24, 2019 8:43 am

Page 19 is full-on Doctor Phil with an "I'm not the problem, you're the problem" moment. Great. Ratings up, wellness down.

If PHP message boards infected with invasive Ukranian malware weren't self-defeating enough, why not bring in a belligerent forensic actuary with a repetition fetish to deliver the coup de grâce? Are we having fun yet? Is the neck measurement on my dress-shirt a rough approximation for a noose? I mean, 15.5 feels a little tight, but asking for a friend.

r/washingtonwizards is thinking, what, maybe two years out till they add the RealGM biological and technological distinctiveness to their own? This is free time - it's discretionary. People could do anything with these moments.

Is anyone planning for their tears in rain speech to be about arguing in favor of contextual interpretations of hardwood happenings? I don't even mean about defending their own personal interpretations versus conflicting viewpoints, which was the entire point of this message board at one point. I mean defending the intrinsic value of contextual interpretations as an alternative to narrowly-focused absolutist mathematical determinism. As posited by the same person time and again. Mathematical determinism presented in a manner that inherently stifles opinions and further discourse. It ain’t exactly a conversation starter, amirightbro? Is this not contrary to the entire purpose of a message board? It's supposed to be a vehicle of self-expression, for F's sake.

There's a certain threshold that people have for rolling their eyes and muttering "here we go again." Beyond that point and they aren't skipping over puddles to come back during their unpaid downtime. Many can find frustration on-tap 9-5 daily, which is at least offset with remuneration.

We are on page 19 of the Thomas Bryant thread. I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Shooting .82% from the field within 3' of the cup with pick and pop potential glittering in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. Projecting future usage rates or per-36 numbers from this is uncertain, but we’re not allowed to talk about that here because the Demogorgon’s going to eat Hawkins. Or something.

It has been said. It is known. I’m out...McDonkertonesque.
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#382 » by nate33 » Sat Aug 24, 2019 1:09 pm

Mojo Amok wrote:Page 19 is full-on Doctor Phil with an "I'm not the problem, you're the problem" moment. Great. Ratings up, wellness down.

If PHP message boards infected with invasive Ukranian malware weren't self-defeating enough, why not bring in a belligerent forensic actuary with a repetition fetish to deliver the coup de grâce? Are we having fun yet? Is the neck measurement on my dress-shirt a rough approximation for a noose? I mean, 15.5 feels a little tight, but asking for a friend.

r/washingtonwizards is thinking, what, maybe two years out till they add the RealGM biological and technological distinctiveness to their own? This is free time - it's discretionary. People could do anything with these moments.

Is anyone planning for their tears in rain speech to be about arguing in favor of contextual interpretations of hardwood happenings? I don't even mean about defending their own personal interpretations versus conflicting viewpoints, which was the entire point of this message board at one point. I mean defending the intrinsic value of contextual interpretations as an alternative to narrowly-focused absolutist mathematical determinism. As posited by the same person time and again. Mathematical determinism presented in a manner that inherently stifles opinions and further discourse. It ain’t exactly a conversation starter, amirightbro? Is this not contrary to the entire purpose of a message board? It's supposed to be a vehicle of self-expression, for F's sake.

There's a certain threshold that people have for rolling their eyes and muttering "here we go again." Beyond that point and they aren't skipping over puddles to come back during their unpaid downtime. Many can find frustration on-tap 9-5 daily, which is at least offset with remuneration.

We are on page 19 of the Thomas Bryant thread. I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Shooting .82% from the field within 3' of the cup with pick and pop potential glittering in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. Projecting future usage rates or per-36 numbers from this is uncertain, but we’re not allowed to talk about that here because the Demogorgon’s going to eat Hawkins. Or something.

It has been said. It is known. I’m out...McDonkertonesque.


:clap:

This belongs in the Hall of Fame thread!
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#383 » by payitforward » Sat Aug 24, 2019 2:20 pm

I agree -- even tho I'm the target! Some absolutely great writing in there, Mojo....

It's funny to be characterized as a "forensic actuary," "narrowly focused (on) absolutist mathematical determinism," when in fact I'm the author or co-author of about 20 books of poetry, am in a Norton Anthology, etc. etc. etc. (blah blah blah -- don't get me wrong: none of that means anything. It just points to what I do with my time).

Not to mention that I'm pretty sure I've been to more NBA games in more NBA seasons than any but the most nuts among you.

Still... it's a great post! I loved it. I might print it & post it on my wall (real-world not f-book).

Edit: in honor of Mojo's post, I am not going to post any numbers-based player comparisons for an entire month -- or more (we'll see).
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#384 » by doclinkin » Sat Aug 24, 2019 2:51 pm

Mojo Amok wrote:Page 19 is full-on Doctor Phil with an "I'm not the problem, you're the problem" moment. Great. Ratings up, wellness down.

If PHP message boards infected with invasive Ukranian malware weren't self-defeating enough, why not bring in a belligerent forensic actuary with a repetition fetish to deliver the coup de grâce? Are we having fun yet? Is the neck measurement on my dress-shirt a rough approximation for a noose? I mean, 15.5 feels a little tight, but asking for a friend.

r/washingtonwizards is thinking, what, maybe two years out till they add the RealGM biological and technological distinctiveness to their own? This is free time - it's discretionary. People could do anything with these moments.

Is anyone planning for their tears in rain speech to be about arguing in favor of contextual interpretations of hardwood happenings? I don't even mean about defending their own personal interpretations versus conflicting viewpoints, which was the entire point of this message board at one point. I mean defending the intrinsic value of contextual interpretations as an alternative to narrowly-focused absolutist mathematical determinism. As posited by the same person time and again. Mathematical determinism presented in a manner that inherently stifles opinions and further discourse. It ain’t exactly a conversation starter, amirightbro? Is this not contrary to the entire purpose of a message board? It's supposed to be a vehicle of self-expression, for F's sake.

There's a certain threshold that people have for rolling their eyes and muttering "here we go again." Beyond that point and they aren't skipping over puddles to come back during their unpaid downtime. Many can find frustration on-tap 9-5 daily, which is at least offset with remuneration.

We are on page 19 of the Thomas Bryant thread. I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Shooting .82% from the field within 3' of the cup with pick and pop potential glittering in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. Projecting future usage rates or per-36 numbers from this is uncertain, but we’re not allowed to talk about that here because the Demogorgon’s going to eat Hawkins. Or something.

It has been said. It is known. I’m out...McDonkertonesque.



Hoopalotta drops a Dada coup de gras, ha!
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#385 » by doclinkin » Sat Aug 24, 2019 2:54 pm

nate33 wrote:
Mojo Amok wrote:Page 19 is full-on Doctor Phil with an "I'm not the problem, you're the problem" moment. Great. Ratings up, wellness down.

If PHP message boards infected with invasive Ukranian malware weren't self-defeating enough, why not bring in a belligerent forensic actuary with a repetition fetish to deliver the coup de grâce? Are we having fun yet? Is the neck measurement on my dress-shirt a rough approximation for a noose? I mean, 15.5 feels a little tight, but asking for a friend.

r/washingtonwizards is thinking, what, maybe two years out till they add the RealGM biological and technological distinctiveness to their own? This is free time - it's discretionary. People could do anything with these moments.

Is anyone planning for their tears in rain speech to be about arguing in favor of contextual interpretations of hardwood happenings? I don't even mean about defending their own personal interpretations versus conflicting viewpoints, which was the entire point of this message board at one point. I mean defending the intrinsic value of contextual interpretations as an alternative to narrowly-focused absolutist mathematical determinism. As posited by the same person time and again. Mathematical determinism presented in a manner that inherently stifles opinions and further discourse. It ain’t exactly a conversation starter, amirightbro? Is this not contrary to the entire purpose of a message board? It's supposed to be a vehicle of self-expression, for F's sake.

There's a certain threshold that people have for rolling their eyes and muttering "here we go again." Beyond that point and they aren't skipping over puddles to come back during their unpaid downtime. Many can find frustration on-tap 9-5 daily, which is at least offset with remuneration.

We are on page 19 of the Thomas Bryant thread. I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Shooting .82% from the field within 3' of the cup with pick and pop potential glittering in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. Projecting future usage rates or per-36 numbers from this is uncertain, but we’re not allowed to talk about that here because the Demogorgon’s going to eat Hawkins. Or something.

It has been said. It is known. I’m out...McDonkertonesque.


:clap:

This belongs in the Hall of Fame thread!


Done.
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#386 » by doclinkin » Sat Aug 24, 2019 2:56 pm

Tannhouser Gate. RIP Rutger Hauer.
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#387 » by prime1time » Tue Aug 27, 2019 5:09 am

gtn130 wrote:Here is a list of centers who I'd say are definite offensive difference makers who will be on the court almost regardless of their defensive capabilities:

0 Dribble Shot Frequency
KAT - 52%
Jokic - 51%
Anthony Davis - 49%
Joel Embiid - 46%
Al Horford - 68%
Kristaps Porzingis - 64% (2017-18)
DeMarcus Cousin - 46% (2016-17)

-----

Thomas Bryant - 79%

Again, Thomas Bryant is not the same as these guys. He's not doing *nearly* as much as they are offensively, and the shots he's taking are *significantly* easier. Looking at his bref numbers and concluding he's roughly on their trajectory offensively is not a complete or accurate assessment, and we haven't even really addressed shot creation for others or defense - and his defense is quite bad.

I maintain that TB is basically going to be the bad defensive version of Clint Capella + a better 3pt shot. He is far more comparable offensively to Capella than any of the guys in that list.

Way too early to tell what Bryant can be offensively. I've been following Rico Hines the entire summer. Every day Bryant is in there working on his game. This offseason he has completely overhauled his eating habits, and just looking at him, his body is different. His defense is not good, but he's improving. How about we was and see before making arbitrary determinations about what a player might or might not be. Also, if you're going to post a stat like that, at least post it in context What were those guys doing in their 2nd year in the league? Also, maybe it's better for the Wizards offense that Bryant plays the way he does. We don't need him to be a superstar. We need him to play protect the rim, rebound, make open jumpers and finish at the rim. He can do the last two, and if he can somehow find a way to do the first two, who cares if he's not an elite scoring center.



The dude works hard and loves the game. He's been working out with Rico practically every day, and Hines is Pascal Siakam's trainer.



Listen to how PJ Tucker describes him. At the end of the day, rebounding and defense is about heart and desire. Bryan has both of those in spades, so I'm willing to take a wait and see approach on the rest. I also expect him to improve his 3-point shooting. And if you watch any of Rico Hines pick-up games on youtube, you'll hear him always tell the guards to attack Bryant off the dribble and force him to defend. We have no idea what kind of growth curve Thomas is on.
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#388 » by prime1time » Tue Aug 27, 2019 5:39 am

I have no idea what's going on in this thread, but what I do know is that Thomas Bryant really works hard on his game. I see arguing about how Thomas Bryant isn't an "elite scoring" center. Let's stop and think for a second. Is that even a negative? There's only one basketball. The ability to score and be efficient without taking a dribble is a skill to be proud not ashamed of. It is a fundamental flaw in basketball analysis to believe that players who are scorers and require multiple dribbles to be effective are inherently better than a player like Thomas Bryant. The problem with this line of thinking is that there is only one basketball. To build a team - not a superficial team on paper - but a real team on the basketball court, you need players who's games fit together. Pushing this line of reasoning to the extreme, you can readily see the flaw. If everyone needs the ball and there's only one ball, then we have a problem.

In my personal opinion, the fact that Thomas Bryant scores 82% of his shots without dribbling is irrelevant. We don't want Bryant taking multiple dribbles. We want him to finish at the rim, shoot the 3 or mid-range jumper or give up the ball. The fact that he accepts this role is a testimony to him. The only thing that matters about Bryant's game is how effective or a rebounder can he be and how effective of a defender can he be. Now I throw out the word defender, but a closer look at what that encompasses reveals just how much work Bryant needs to put in.

We need Bryant to be a rim protector, an adequate switch-defender and a sufficient big-man post defender. Question marks exist for me about all of these. In addition, we need Bryant to be a great rebounder. Can he do that idk. The most likely result imo, is that he'll be able to do some things good, somethings ok and somethings bad. And if that's the case, there should still be place for him on this team. Not every player needs to be Anthony Davis or Joel Embiid. We are trying to build a team, not assemble a bunch of superstars. And I refuse to believe that there is no space on the Wizards for a person who works hard, passionately accepts his role and positively reacts to failure and disappointment thus displaying grit (being cut by the Lakers).

On a side note, lets talk about Grit for a second. If you haven't watched Angela Duckworth's TED talk, do yourself a favor and go and watch it. IMO there are grit individuals and there are also gritty teams. I mentioned it in the Rui Hachimura thread and soon as I deep dived into his game and story. In 3 years Rui learned English, transformed his body and won SF of the year. In comparison, to doing that, how hard will it be for him to learn to be a good 3-point shooter? I don't knoiuw what will happen to this team going forward, but what I do know is that we are starting to assemble a team of fighters. You can talk about stats and numbers all you want, but at eventually basketball devolves into a game of will. And far from the days of Andray Blatche and Javale McGee and Nick Young, this team that Tommy has put together has at its core hard work, passion and perseverance. No one's forcing Rui to go and play for his country, but not only does he do it, he embraces it. He wants to be the man. Long story short, I really like this team. Rant done lol.
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#389 » by nate33 » Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:01 pm

prime1time wrote:

The dude works hard and loves the game. He's been working out with Rico practically every day, and Hines is Pascal Siakam's trainer.

Man, he looks fantastic in this video. Not just his game, but his body and his mobility. He's leaner, quicker and stronger. It's going to make a big difference in his defense. His offense is already very impressive for a guy his age, and it's rapidly improving as well as he hones that jumper.
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#390 » by I_Like_Dirt » Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:12 pm

prime1time wrote:We need Bryant to be a rim protector, an adequate switch-defender and a sufficient big-man post defender. Question marks exist for me about all of these. In addition, we need Bryant to be a great rebounder. Can he do that idk. The most likely result imo, is that he'll be able to do some things good, somethings ok and somethings bad. And if that's the case, there should still be place for him on this team. Not every player needs to be Anthony Davis or Joel Embiid. We are trying to build a team, not assemble a bunch of superstars. And I refuse to believe that there is no space on the Wizards for a person who works hard, passionately accepts his role and positively reacts to failure and disappointment thus displaying grit (being cut by the Lakers).


I don't even think Bryant needs to become a particularly good rebounder in terms of volume. Having a guy out there who goes and gets all the rebounds isn't necessarily particularly valuable. It doesn't really matter if it's Bryant or Beal or Hachimura or Brown or whoever that gets the rebound so long as the Wizards get it. He does need to get better at preventing the other team from getting the rebound and getting the rebound within his own area, though.

Defense, though, no arguments from me. His defense really the only thing holding him back at this point. It's why he couldn't even get the MLE in an offseason where there was loads of cap space available. His offensive game is definitely more limited than the numbers suggest and that's definitely an issue, but he's still very effectively offensively it's an issue that wouldn't matter at all if he could figure out the defensive side of the ball. You're right that not everyone needs to be Anthony Davis or Joel Embiid. But if you look around the league, you don't actually see a lot of bigs that struggle to execute (relatively speaking) pretty much everywhere on the floor on defense but excel on offense. You do see a bunch of offensively limited bigs that are there for defensive purposes, though.

Bryant would do extremely well if he could figure out how to play defense similarly to Serge Ibaka. Ibaka can't dribble, either, and isn't a great rebounder. He isn't a great rebounder but he can box out, knows when to stay at home, when to switch and is fundamentally sound on defense. Ibaka isn't a great defender, either - just a functional one. Bryant would probably triple the per year amount of his next contract, or more, if he could figure out how to play defense like that.
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#391 » by nate33 » Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:24 pm

prime1time wrote:I have no idea what's going on in this thread, but what I do know is that Thomas Bryant really works hard on his game. I see arguing about how Thomas Bryant isn't an "elite scoring" center. Let's stop and think for a second. Is that even a negative? There's only one basketball. The ability to score and be efficient without taking a dribble is a skill to be proud not ashamed of. It is a fundamental flaw in basketball analysis to believe that players who are scorers and require multiple dribbles to be effective are inherently better than a player like Thomas Bryant. The problem with this line of thinking is that there is only one basketball. To build a team - not a superficial team on paper - but a real team on the basketball court, you need players who's games fit together. Pushing this line of reasoning to the extreme, you can readily see the flaw. If everyone needs the ball and there's only one ball, then we have a problem.

In my personal opinion, the fact that Thomas Bryant scores 82% of his shots without dribbling is irrelevant. We don't want Bryant taking multiple dribbles. We want him to finish at the rim, shoot the 3 or mid-range jumper or give up the ball. The fact that he accepts this role is a testimony to him. The only thing that matters about Bryant's game is how effective or a rebounder can he be and how effective of a defender can he be. Now I throw out the word defender, but a closer look at what that encompasses reveals just how much work Bryant needs to put in.

I think gtn130 makes a fair point that there's a big difference between being a true scoring big man and merely a finishing big man.

Yes, we all agree that Thomas is already an exceptional finishing big man. There's no arguing with the numbers. The man is top 4 in the league in TS% and ORtg, and #1 in both categories among guys averaging 24 or more points per 100 possessions. But finishing alone isn't enough to put you among the league's best offensive big men. Guys that exclusively finish end up averaging 10-15 points per game. That's certainly helpful to the team, but it's nothing to get too excited about. There are plenty of Dwight Powell's and Javale McGee's in the game who finish exceptionally well and nobody seems to value them all that much.

What you want is a guy who finishes at an elite level while also doing something else. If he's an exceptional defender, than you've got a Rudy Gobert, Steven Adams, or Clint Capela type of player. If he develops other components to his offensive repertoire, then maybe he can be a high percentage scorer on significant volume and score 18-20 points a game. Now you're talking about a Lamarcus Aldridge, Karl-Anthony Towns or John Collins type of player. If he can do both, then you're talking Anthony Davis or Joel Embiid.

All gtn130 is saying is that, so far, Bryant has only proven to be a Dwight Powell/Javale McGee tier player. Obviously, doing so as a redshirt rookie at age 21 is still a very good thing, but it doesn't necessarily mean he has an All-Star career in front of him. We'll have to see how well he develops defensively and in expanding his offensive repertoire.
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#392 » by payitforward » Tue Aug 27, 2019 9:25 pm

prime1time wrote:I have no idea what's going on in this thread, but what I do know is that Thomas Bryant really works hard on his game. I see arguing about how Thomas Bryant isn't an "elite scoring" center. Let's stop and think for a second. Is that even a negative? There's only one basketball. The ability to score and be efficient without taking a dribble is a skill to be proud not ashamed of. It is a fundamental flaw in basketball analysis to believe that players who are scorers and require multiple dribbles to be effective are inherently better than a player like Thomas Bryant. The problem with this line of thinking is that there is only one basketball. To build a team - not a superficial team on paper - but a real team on the basketball court, you need players who's games fit together. Pushing this line of reasoning to the extreme, you can readily see the flaw. If everyone needs the ball and there's only one ball, then we have a problem.

In my personal opinion, the fact that Thomas Bryant scores 82% of his shots without dribbling is irrelevant. We don't want Bryant taking multiple dribbles. We want him to finish at the rim, shoot the 3 or mid-range jumper or give up the ball. The fact that he accepts this role is a testimony to him. The only thing that matters about Bryant's game is how effective or a rebounder can he be and how effective of a defender can he be. Now I throw out the word defender, but a closer look at what that encompasses reveals just how much work Bryant needs to put in.

We need Bryant to be a rim protector, an adequate switch-defender and a sufficient big-man post defender. Question marks exist for me about all of these. In addition, we need Bryant to be a great rebounder. Can he do that idk. The most likely result imo, is that he'll be able to do some things good, somethings ok and somethings bad. And if that's the case, there should still be place for him on this team. Not every player needs to be Anthony Davis or Joel Embiid. We are trying to build a team, not assemble a bunch of superstars. And I refuse to believe that there is no space on the Wizards for a person who works hard, passionately accepts his role and positively reacts to failure and disappointment thus displaying grit (being cut by the Lakers).

On a side note, lets talk about Grit for a second. If you haven't watched Angela Duckworth's TED talk, do yourself a favor and go and watch it. IMO there are grit individuals and there are also gritty teams. I mentioned it in the Rui Hachimura thread and soon as I deep dived into his game and story. In 3 years Rui learned English, transformed his body and won SF of the year. In comparison, to doing that, how hard will it be for him to learn to be a good 3-point shooter? I don't knoiuw what will happen to this team going forward, but what I do know is that we are starting to assemble a team of fighters. You can talk about stats and numbers all you want, but at eventually basketball devolves into a game of will. And far from the days of Andray Blatche and Javale McGee and Nick Young, this team that Tommy has put together has at its core hard work, passion and perseverance. No one's forcing Rui to go and play for his country, but not only does he do it, he embraces it. He wants to be the man. Long story short, I really like this team. Rant done lol.

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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#393 » by payitforward » Tue Aug 27, 2019 9:35 pm

nate33 wrote:
prime1time wrote:I have no idea what's going on in this thread, but what I do know is that Thomas Bryant really works hard on his game. I see arguing about how Thomas Bryant isn't an "elite scoring" center. Let's stop and think for a second. Is that even a negative? There's only one basketball. The ability to score and be efficient without taking a dribble is a skill to be proud not ashamed of. It is a fundamental flaw in basketball analysis to believe that players who are scorers and require multiple dribbles to be effective are inherently better than a player like Thomas Bryant. The problem with this line of thinking is that there is only one basketball. To build a team - not a superficial team on paper - but a real team on the basketball court, you need players who's games fit together. Pushing this line of reasoning to the extreme, you can readily see the flaw. If everyone needs the ball and there's only one ball, then we have a problem.

In my personal opinion, the fact that Thomas Bryant scores 82% of his shots without dribbling is irrelevant. We don't want Bryant taking multiple dribbles. We want him to finish at the rim, shoot the 3 or mid-range jumper or give up the ball. The fact that he accepts this role is a testimony to him. The only thing that matters about Bryant's game is how effective or a rebounder can he be and how effective of a defender can he be. Now I throw out the word defender, but a closer look at what that encompasses reveals just how much work Bryant needs to put in.

I think gtn130 makes a fair point that there's a big difference between being a true scoring big man and merely a finishing big man.

Yes, we all agree that Thomas is already an exceptional finishing big man. There's no arguing with the numbers. The man is top 4 in the league in TS% and ORtg, and #1 in both categories among guys averaging 24 or more points per 100 possessions. But finishing alone isn't enough to put you among the league's best offensive big men. Guys that exclusively finish end up averaging 10-15 points per game. That's certainly helpful to the team, but it's nothing to get too excited about. There are plenty of Dwight Powell's and Javale McGee's in the game who finish exceptionally well and nobody seems to value them all that much.

What you want is a guy who finishes at an elite level while also doing something else. If he's an exceptional defender, than you've got a Rudy Gobert, Steven Adams, or Clint Capela type of player. If he develops other components to his offensive repertoire, then maybe he can be a high percentage scorer on significant volume and score 18-20 points a game. Now you're talking about a Lamarcus Aldridge, Karl-Anthony Towns or John Collins type of player. If he can do both, then you're talking Anthony Davis or Joel Embiid.

All gtn130 is saying is that, so far, Bryant has only proven to be a Dwight Powell/Javale McGee tier player. Obviously, doing so as a redshirt rookie at age 21 is still a very good thing, but it doesn't necessarily mean he has an All-Star career in front of him. We'll have to see how well he develops defensively and in expanding his offensive repertoire.

This is common sense -- how could anyone disagree? The one point I'd make is that it might be better to say "a Dwight Powell/Javale McGee style player" rather than "tier...." Especially compared to Powell, Bryant did things so much better last season that it's hard to put them on the same tier (now, long-term... we have to see).

As to comparing him w/ Javale, really it would be shooting the 3 that would differentiate him -- he is started on that, & for sure it's an area where we are all hoping he will improve rapidly (& therefore shoot lots more of them).
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#394 » by trast66 » Wed Aug 28, 2019 2:38 am

This is a great thread and I hope Thomas Bryant reads it one day.
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#395 » by payitforward » Wed Aug 28, 2019 1:42 pm

Only one day? Not every day?

One thing I'm sure we all agree on -- he seems like a great kid!
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#396 » by dckingsfan » Wed Aug 28, 2019 2:10 pm

payitforward wrote:Only one day? Not every day?

One thing I'm sure we all agree on -- he seems like a great kid!

Not to be excessively and painstakingly fussy but... really just before each film session. Please not every day.

We need him to be working on the game and not here addicted to the forum. Next thing he will be sucked into the Current Affairs forum and the season will be lost.
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#397 » by gtn130 » Wed Aug 28, 2019 6:10 pm

payitforward wrote:This is common sense -- how could anyone disagree? The one point I'd make is that it might be better to say "a Dwight Powell/Javale McGee style player" rather than "tier...." Especially compared to Powell, Bryant did things so much better last season that it's hard to put them on the same tier (now, long-term... we have to see).

As to comparing him w/ Javale, really it would be shooting the 3 that would differentiate him -- he is started on that, & for sure it's an area where we are all hoping he will improve rapidly (& therefore shoot lots more of them).


This post doesn't seem all that consistent with other stuff you've said tbh.

Instead of re-litigating the various arguments in this thread, I would be curious to hear who you think Bryant's realistic comps are. Which player does he compare favorably to? What in your mind is his most likely career outcome?
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#398 » by nate33 » Wed Aug 28, 2019 7:36 pm

gtn130 wrote:
payitforward wrote:This is common sense -- how could anyone disagree? The one point I'd make is that it might be better to say "a Dwight Powell/Javale McGee style player" rather than "tier...." Especially compared to Powell, Bryant did things so much better last season that it's hard to put them on the same tier (now, long-term... we have to see).

As to comparing him w/ Javale, really it would be shooting the 3 that would differentiate him -- he is started on that, & for sure it's an area where we are all hoping he will improve rapidly (& therefore shoot lots more of them).


This post doesn't seem all that consistent with other stuff you've said tbh.

Instead of re-litigating the various arguments in this thread, I would be curious to hear who you think Bryant's realistic comps are. Which player does he compare favorably to? What in your mind is his most likely career outcome?

That's a good question.

It's hard for me to come up with a comparison. Bryant doesn't have the hyper athleticism and bounce of guys like D'Andre Jordan, Chandler and McGee and yet he rolls and finishes as well as any of them. He doesn't have the precision of Gortat in setting picks, yet he frees himself up for roll opportunities such that, despite being a rookie, he scored more often than Gortat on a per minute basis. He doesn't have the lateral mobility of guys like Capela and Adams so he doesn't project to be as switchable, but he does have great height and wingspan so he should pan out to be a pretty good rim protector.

He shoots better than all the guys I just mentioned. As a pick and pop guy, he compares more to guys like Marc Gasol and Al Horford. Those guys have extremely high b-ball IQ's though. It's risky to project that Bryant masters the game mentally as well as those guys, because so few players do. I guess Marc Gasol with less bball IQ would be a guy like Vucevic.

So is Vucevic the closest comparison? I'm hoping Bryant pans out to be a better defender.
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#399 » by dckingsfan » Wed Aug 28, 2019 8:17 pm

nate33 wrote:...So is Vucevic the closest comparison? I'm hoping Bryant pans out to be a better defender.

That was going to be my pick - but I thought folks would think I was nuts. More like a slightly better Vucevic (hopefully one that doesn't disappear in the playoffs).
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Re: Seismic Shift in the East: Thomas Bryant a Wizard 

Post#400 » by Ruzious » Wed Aug 28, 2019 9:19 pm

dckingsfan wrote:
nate33 wrote:...So is Vucevic the closest comparison? I'm hoping Bryant pans out to be a better defender.

That was going to be my pick - but I thought folks would think I was nuts. More like a slightly better Vucevic (hopefully one that doesn't disappear in the playoffs).

I don't think that's a bad comp, but I think Bryant is more physically explosive and better near the hoop, while Vuc is better away from the hoop.
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