Tristan Thompson

[Tornicade]

I don't know what TT did to Taj Gibson in another life, but Gibson tend to pull a Marsellus Wallace and just go medieval on Tristan. I think Tristan had more shots blocked then made tonight: just does not matchup well with the Bulls.

Tristan did have a nice block on Nazr. The bulls have a plethora of near 7 footers. Tristan never had a chance.

or Tristan had a stinker of a game because players do that on occasion. tristan had 3 double doubles in the previous 3 matchups against the bulls.

 

[mAo_mAo]

This is not about the stats. This is about thd STYLE of play. Can TT be comfortable enough to go away from the basket and be a big that can consistently hit and take jumpshots?

Stats do not measure that. That is an overhaul of his whole mental approach to the game that goes beyond just changing shooting hands.

 

[CosmoKramer]

I don't get all the switching hand BS. You guys seem to put your hopes on him improving that jumper to a point where he is a consistent threat. I don't see it. I hope he proves me wrong but I'm not gonna put my hopes in building a championship team on someone switching hands and hoping they develop. There are other options out there and TT and his feel good story about switching hands shouldn't be a reason why we can get someone in here that is a natural shooter at the 4.

We drafted Bennett for this very reason. No one expected him to show up and forget how to play basketball though.

TT played a terrible game. The effort was there, and he had a couple nice dunks and offensive boards, but overall one of his worst games for the season. Taj Gibson had the game of his life shooting those moon shots over TT. He absolutely destroyed Clark on the block, and both Andy and Tyler gave up tough inside buckets when switched onto him. In the past week TT has held Dirk and Aldridge to inefficient shooting nights. I'm not going to overreact to Taj Gibson's having the game of his career.

And honestly, TT's big block on Nazr looked an awful lot like goaltending to me...

 

[mAo_mAo]

On his defense, yes we can say that he is a good one on one defender but he is non existent with helpside interior D. He does not block nor alter shots, and he neither takes charges. Those two aspects are more important in today's type of pick and roll heavy basketball.

 

[sjhughes]

People can pretend all they want that TT is going to be a good basketball player but at the moment it is very far away. I dont think there is a chance in hell that he will ever be an all-star. They guy has absolutely no post moves besides his face up, dribble right and try to get past defender. The switching hand bull shit has no effect on post moves, he is in the freaking NBA he should have at least 2 moves it is embarrassing. What really pisses me off is his lack of understanding of when and where to cut. Deng looked for him multiple times on cuts and he just stands there or is clogging the lane. If you cant created for your self you think he would wake the hell up and cut to the hoop so he can get easy baskets. Right now he is a god awful offensive player and no one can convince me otherwise. Then you add in the fact defense is supposed to be his specialty and from what I see he is always lost, he misses rotations and is out of position. His defensive struggles to me are inexcusable.

I am more than likely over blowing my hate on TT right now but I needed to vent. I am disgusted with the way our team plays and the lack of understanding of the game on both sides of the ball and I needed someone to Bitch about and it was TT lucky day. This team is a giant shit show and until they learn to play as a team and do the little things all of us on here will be drinking more than a normal amount of alcohol.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

People can pretend all they want that TT is going to be a good basketball player but at the moment it is very far away. I dont think there is a chance in hell that he will ever be an all-star. They guy has absolutely no post moves besides his face up, dribble right and try to get past defender. The switching hand bull shit has no effect on post moves, he is in the freaking NBA he should have at least 2 moves it is embarrassing. What really pisses me off is his lack of understanding of when and where to cut. Deng looked for him multiple times on cuts and he just stands there or is clogging the lane. If you cant created for your self you think he would wake the hell up and cut to the hoop so he can get easy baskets. Right now he is a god awful offensive player and no one can convince me otherwise. Then you add in the fact defense is supposed to be his specialty and from what I see he is always lost, he misses rotations and is out of position. His defensive struggles to me are inexcusable.

TT had a bad game last night -- that's obvious. And maybe he'll never be an all-star. But then, no championship team has ever had all-stars at all 5 positions. The guy is racking up double/doubles, and he usually guards his man well, so he's obviously contributing something. By way of comparison, Andy's offensive game has grown significantly since he was first acquired. He never had that reliable face-up he has now, nor was he as adept at recognition and cutting to the basket. That took him years to develop.

The point is that there doesn't need to be agreement right now on what his ceiling really is because there really isn't a viable alternative right now. He hasn't yet plateaued, and unless we need to use him to acquire a better player, how good he "really" is or will become isn't all that relevant.

Dude had a bad game. It happens.

 

[sjhughes]

I am not talking specifically about one game. I was referring to him as a player. I don't think he has to be an all-star and I never have said what his ceiling should be. All I want is to see actually basketball moves when he has the ball and to make correct cuts. It happens to much on our team in general the lack of basketball understanding and I mentioned that at the end of my previous post I was in the mood to vent.

I love the hustle that TT brings to a game, I just want to see development in his ability to score in the post when he is isolated. The NBA is a joke when it comes to defense, if he can put the time in and get some quality post moves his ability to score will improve greatly. In terms of cutting to the basket, that should be second nature and done without a thought. The sad thing is with AAU and this piss poor fundamentals in the NBA that part of the game has started to go away. I will be the first to admit that the Cavs passing is terrible and the isolation bull crap offense they run doesnt help, I am just hoping for more improvement and I am confident it will come, I just needed a good vent.

 

[Cassity14]

TT's jump hook in the lane that comes out of him posting up is pretty deadly.

I get that he played awfully, but that doesn't negate the 20/10 and 19/11 (I think that's what they were) games he put up in the 2 prior.

 

[SteelSmack]

And he's shown a spin move to the baseline to help counter his jump hook in the lane. Give him time, guys. He's grown immensely, just switched shooting hands and is still only 22 years old. The sky is the limit.

 

[RchfldCavRaised]

He is starting to fumble passes, something like JJ Hickson always did.

I get that he has little girl hands, but that wasnt a problem before now. Even the pass from CJ to TT when Tristan had 4-5 steps on Gibson on our break, you can Tristan doesnt catch the ball cleanly, kinda bobbles but had enough lead on Gibson to not be contested when he went up with two.

Why is he starting to fumble passes? Is it mental?

 

[sjhughes]

I honestly think it happens due to lack of ball movement. When watching the team play there are a ton of times people arent expecting a pass because it normally never comes. It is hard to be prepared for situations when the majority of the time your standing there watching ppl be ball dominate. I would give anything for our team to pass like the Bulls do.

 

[Spencer Hawes]

Olden Polynice was traded for Scottie Pippen. Could CG do something that miraculous with TT?

 

[Just Checkin]

He is starting to fumble passes, something like JJ Hickson always did.

I get that he has little girl hands, but that wasnt a problem before now. Even the pass from CJ to TT when Tristan had 4-5 steps on Gibson on our break, you can Tristan doesnt catch the ball cleanly, kinda bobbles but had enough lead on Gibson to not be contested when he went up with two.

Why is he starting to fumble passes? Is it mental?

With Mike Brown around I'm sure Tristan just had his mind on how he is going to hard show on defense instead of whatever it is that offense is called.

Motion offense in jell-o is what I like to call it.

 

[chrisrich91]

Pains me watching him play right now. I just don't like his game. He's got a LONG way to go if he's ever going to develop into a modern day NBA PF. And I don't mean his jumper has a long way to go. It does, but beyond that is his whole approach to the game. He can nail jumpers at a high clip, but he still doesn't have the feel for the game to get himself midrange jumpers consistently enough to draw a defender out of the paint.

You pass it to the guy and he's 15-18 feet from the basket. He's NEVER in the triple threat position/ready to shoot a jumper. He's immediately looking to make the next perimeter pass or put his head down and try to bully his way to the rim. He's not comfortable out there, and that's something that stems from the way he learned to play basketball over years and years. That kind of thing is very difficult to change.

He's a tremendous worker. He was able to completely construct new shooting mechanics in an offseason and has seen some good results from it. But that's a physical development. Making the mental leap to becoming a midrange, face up PF WHILE he's still working on his mechanics is a whole different animal that I don't think we can count on.

 

[CornerThree]

Olden Polynice was traded for Scottie Pippen. Could CG do something that miraculous with TT?

I'm sure that was just a "you select our guy and we'll select your guy" type trade much like Traylor for Nowitzki. The team picking between Seattle and Chicago would have taken Pippen. It never looked like it was anything but that. Also see the Cavs selecting Jamal Crawford, for instance.