Tristan Thompson

Saor said:

He isn't. I'd be pretty surprised if he was starting at PF next year. Wouldn't shock me if he wasn't even on the team. He's better than Bennett right now, but Bennett is closing ground quickly.

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He had several good games, with a lot of it in garbage time. I wouldn't say he is closing ground quickly. I have hope for Bennett, but it is way too soon to say that.

kidduck said:

Very interesting moment between TT and Jack last night at the 8:35 mark of the third quarter. On the play, the Lakers got a basket and foul on a drive from the top of the key. Jack was the primary defender, TT off toward the corner. As the players lined up for the FT, Jack and TT got in a semi-heated verbal exchange. As Jack walked away, he rolled his eyes as TT waved his arms in disgust.

The factions in this group of players runs deep.

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We're giving up 131 points per 48 with Tristan at center so far this season. We should probably stop doing that.

Nathan S said:

We're giving up 131 points per 48 with Tristan at center so far this season. We should probably stop doing that.

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Well if everyone's convinced that he's an undersized center, and what Rch just said about him developing that bottom heavy frame then what good is he to us?

People always say he's just like Andy and that's simply not true. Andy is 100x more fluid on the court. Tristan used to play off instinct, now he just looks totally confused.

People we're talking that he'd be an all-star.... I have a hard time believing that will ever happen if his career is heading this way. He should call Emeka Okafor, he got too jacked one year and he said it messed up his entire game. Whatever fraction of game that happened to be......

His biggest asset has always been his quickness. Bulking up will hinder that ability, it won't kill it completely, but his moves won't be nearly as snappy. Tristan is never going to be an anchor either, anchor meaning like the immovable object of a defender. That might be Bennett actually..... That's why I could see a guy like Asik being a huge benefit to us. That's his responsibility, he'll contest shots even if he's bound to the ground. Thompson needs to be flying in from the weak side and blocking the hell out of all these layups that we routinely give up.

But Mike's got him showing so far, helping so far out that it's really unrealistic of what we should expect of him, considering his role and the circumstances of this team.


His role more than anyone else's is mired in ambiguity. He's been relegated to strictly a garbage man, which is a shame. I think he can be a dynamic player to throw at a team. I know everyone's down on him because he seems replaceable. I don't think he has any spectacular qualities, but he's got an interesting combination to throw at somebody. You know off the bench he's going to come in, haul in every loose ball, draw a ton of fouls, fight for rebounds, in theory he can block shots.....

Can we please release Earl Clark too and pick up Ivan Johnson? Gotta wait for the Chinese league to commence in late February. We need an injection of toughness.

Frank Reynolds said:

Tristan used to play off instinct, now he just looks totally confused.

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Couldn't agree more. Much like Bennett earlier this season, he seems to have no idea what his role is supposed to be on this team. Pulling a total Benjamin Button on us right now.

Besides his rebounding being down, Tristan is doing in the last 10 game stretches what he's done in any ten game stretch of the season. All while the team has been in turmoil, he's been played a little more at center, and the rotations have been in flux. I think as Bennett is showing some of what he can do, people are just noticing the difference in skillsets between the two.

Overall, Tristan has slightly improved from last year, while changing his shot, dealing with the turmoil, and adjusting to a new coach. I don't really see the regression. More like settling into what he may be destined for. HIgh energy, impactful offensive rebounder, who needs to be paired with a scoring big, and may eventually be our first big off the bench.

Nothing to run him out of town or get down on him for. Unless he can be part of a deal for a better player you just let him continue to grow and see what the rest of this year, and years 4 and 5 bring development wise.

MirORich said:

Besides his rebounding being down, Tristan is doing in the last 10 game stretches what he's done in any ten game stretch of the season. All while the team has been in turmoil, he's been played a little more at center, and the rotations have been in flux. I think as Bennett is showing some of what he can do, people are just noticing the difference in skillsets between the two.

Overall, Tristan has slightly improved from last year, while changing his shot, dealing with the turmoil, and adjusting to a new coach. I don't really see the regression. More like settling into what he may be destined for. HIgh energy, impactful offensive rebounder, who needs to be paired with a scoring big, and may eventually be our first big off the bench.

Nothing to run him out of town or get down on him for. Unless he can be part of a deal for a better player you just let him continue to grow and see what the rest of this year, and years 4 and 5 bring development wise.

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Brown relegates him strictly to hustle big. Last season I thought that he showed a little more, that he could be offensively dynamic and catch people off guard with his odd scoring repertoire and his quickness.

Imagine Tristan in a really fast paced West coast team. If he understood timing as well as AV, knowing when to cut like Andy does so well; then he'd constantly be diving to the hoop for alley oops, and more importantly drawing the defense to him (for once) so the kick out pass is also available. Right now the defense backs the hell off of him, dares him to shoot, and is in prime position to use Tristan's driving ability against him. It's like basketball Aikido.

Our timing is just so whack it's unbelievable. Thompson is athletic, he's a workhorse no doubt. But the role he's playing on this team is a waste of his talent IMO. If he was in a faster paced system, he'd look much much better, and he'd probably be forced to play off instinct.


So many times the defense backs off of him and he's in slow motion, his moves are so easy to predict. All of our kids talent is being wasted with this "offense" were supposedly running. These dudes are too damn young to be walking the ball up the court and playing half-court basketball. Hey Tristan, Kyrie: Note to self, the team always looks better when we play fast. Running a Mike Brown half court offense is effectively committing offensive suicide. You got to learn this by now. And when Kyrie looks to get others involved, and uses his dribble to open other guys up; we're a much better team.

Frank Reynolds said:

Brown relegates him strictly to hustle big. Last season I thought that he showed a little more, that he could be offensively dynamic and catch people off guard with his odd scoring repertoire and his quickness.

Imagine Tristan in a really fast paced West coast team. If he understood timing as well as AV, knowing when to cut like Andy does so well; then he'd constantly be diving to the hoop for alley oops, and more importantly drawing the defense to him (for once) so the kick out pass is also available. Right now the defense backs the hell off of him, dares him to shoot, and is in prime position to use Tristan's driving ability against him.

Our timing is just so whack it's unbelievable. Thompson is athletic, he's a workhorse no doubt. But the role he's playing on this team is a waste of his talent IMO. If he was in a faster paced system, he'd look much much better, and he'd probably be forced to play off instinct.


So many times the defense backs off of him and he's in slow motion, his moves are so easy to predict. All of our kids talent is being wasted with this "offense" were supposedly running. These dudes are too damn young to be walking the ball up the court and playing half-court basketball. Hey Tristan, Kyrie: Note to self, the team always looks better when we play fast. Running a Mike Brown half court offense is effectively committing offensive suicide. You got to learn this by now. And when Kyrie looks to get others involved, and uses his dribble to open other guys up; we're a much better team.

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This team should be as fast as any in the league. But again, coaching, and our plays lack of ability to accept any of it. I hear Mike Brown telling them to push the ball constantly, and they don't. So that's on them for not listening, and on Mike for not getting through. Almost everyone on this team would benefit if we played faster. All of our bigs not only can run, they like to run. We've got a bunch of quick guards. But we walk the ball up constantly.

Frank Reynolds said:

Brown relegates him strictly to hustle big. Last season I thought that he showed a little more, that he could be offensively dynamic and catch people off guard with his odd scoring repertoire and his quickness.

Imagine Tristan in a really fast paced West coast team. If he understood timing as well as AV, knowing when to cut like Andy does so well; then he'd constantly be diving to the hoop for alley oops, and more importantly drawing the defense to him (for once) so the kick out pass is also available. Right now the defense backs the hell off of him, dares him to shoot, and is in prime position to use Tristan's driving ability against him. It's like basketball Aikido.

Our timing is just so whack it's unbelievable. Thompson is athletic, he's a workhorse no doubt. But the role he's playing on this team is a waste of his talent IMO. If he was in a faster paced system, he'd look much much better, and he'd probably be forced to play off instinct.


So many times the defense backs off of him and he's in slow motion, his moves are so easy to predict. All of our kids talent is being wasted with this "offense" were supposedly running. These dudes are too damn young to be walking the ball up the court and playing half-court basketball. Hey Tristan, Kyrie: Note to self, the team always looks better when we play fast. Running a Mike Brown half court offense is effectively committing offensive suicide. You got to learn this by now. And when Kyrie looks to get others involved, and uses his dribble to open other guys up; we're a much better team.

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I agree his role needs to change and that starts with a move to the bench and pairing him with Tyler Zeller.

I like that he's been going up strong for dunks lately, bringing it home with more authority. Seems like he's plateaued a bit, but that's been the trend for him all throughout his development. Hopefully he has at least another jump in development left in him. He often looks like dog shit for a while before he makes a jump.

Watching him last night at times. It is obvious he has no confidence in any sort of jumper. He is open. Dribbles into traffic, gives himself a tougher shot. Rinse and repeat.

Again, the reason we're not seeing any offensive progress with Tristan or changes to his role is because Mike Brown simply does not care about that side of the ball.

Frank Reynolds said:

People we're talking that he'd be an all-star.... I have a hard time believing that will ever happen if his career is heading this way.

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David Lee - Per Game Numbers
age 23: 29.8 minutes, 10.7 points (59.6%), 10.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 stocks (blocks + steals)
age 24: 29.1 minutes, 10.8 points (60%), 8.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 stocks

Al Horford
age 21: 31.4 minutes, 10.1 points (49.9%), 9.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.6 stocks
age 22: 33.5 minutes, 11.5 points (52.5%), 9.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.2 stocks

Serge Ibaka
age 21: 27.0 minutes, 9.9 points (54.3%), 7.6 rebounds, .3 assists, 2.8 stocks
age 22: 27.2 minutes, 9.1 points (53.5%), 7.5 rebounds, .4 assists, 4.2 stocks

Tristan Thompson
age 21: 31.3 minutes, 11.7 points (48.8%), 9.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.8 stocks
age 22: 33.0 minutes, 11.9 points (45.8%), 9.4 rebounds, .9 assists, .8 stocks

All these players showed huge improvements in their games over the following years. I can't see TT scoring as much as Lee did (two seasons of 20+), or being near the defensive player Ibaka is. But Al Horford made a couple All-Star teams averaging right around a 15-10 with solid defense, I don't think that's out of the question for TT.

shoes22 said:

Again, the reason we're not seeing any offensive progress with Tristan or changes to his role is because Mike Brown simply does not care about that side of the ball.

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That'd also explain TT's drop in FG% this year. Even Kyrie and Deng are below their career averages.

His FG% is nowhere near those other guys. That is not a good sign at all

The bottom line is that until(if it is even possible) Tristan adds some sort of consistent jump shot, his ceiling will remain somewhat low.

That doesn't make him worthless.

I wish I knew what happened to these attempts especially given this was opening night:

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