1. YES. I'm going to disregard numbers when I can watch the damn player play. He can put up great numbers, but he can impact a game negatively in a way that doesn't show up in those numbers. I don't understand why that point is so hard to grasp..?
2. I never said you can't mention his age. But I can't get excited about his age/ceiling because I have watched every minute of the guy since he's entered the NBA. The robotic movement, the lack of feel for the game on offense, the lack of explosiveness when trying to protect the rim on defense...these are things that look like long term issues that are going to be incredibly hard to correct.
3. The free throw shooting has been very good. I commend Tristan on that. But at the end of the day, his improving FT shooting has a certain value to it...and that value isn't enough to overcome his deficiencies.
1. Great to know you're disregarding the only realistic way to judge all NBA players. Unless you're watching every single NBA game you're already using them to base a lot of what you know. They aren't the only piece to the puzzle, but to disregard numbers you don't agree with is just immature, even if you are watching the games. And IMO, Tristan Thompson is the type of player you appreciate more while actually watching. His relentless hustle after loose balls, his ability to pick up easy fouls, and his effective screen setting all don't show up in the box score but are important aspects of his game that every NBA player doesn't bring to the table.
2. The "robotic movement" is overblown. He can look awkward on the block against bigger opponents when he's trying to create offense, but that doesn't extend to every part of his game. No one thinks he looks mechanical when he's running the court or crashing the boards, you have to be an athletic presence to do it as well as TT does. And for a player that lacks a feel for the game offensively he sure looked pretty good tonight, 15 points on 4 shots from the field?
3. I'd be glad to hear what your vague values are. I'd say one of the biggest knocks on Tristan was his poor free throwing shooting coming into the league, the fact he looks like he can hit over 70% by next year is wildly encouraging to someone without an ax to grind with him.
I'm exhausted from the hours I've been working recently, so I'm going to stop here. But the AB stuff is something we're going to disagree on at the root. Since Bennett's first time checking into an NBA game this season I have been on a completely different wavelength than a ton of people on here. I guess I'm on the Rchfld wavelength :chuckles:. This season has been like a giant Summer League to me in terms of Bennett. The numbers mean nothing...I've been watching past the numbers. Bennett knows the game very well. It will show as he settles down on the court.
I understand sticking up for a player, especially during the start AB had to his career. There was actual posts on his thread that his salary would be too unbearable for next season, which is just ridiculous. Weeks into his career and he's already being calling a bust, I get that you've stuck by him.
But you're just going off into a fantasy land with most of this here. I'm glad you viewed this season as a string of meaningless exhibition games, AB was right there alongside you. And his numbers should mean something to you, but I guess it fits along with your disregard of numbers though, eh?
If you were watching close enough, you'd be excited by the BBIQ shown by a kid of his experience level and poor results on the court this season.
... What are you even talking about? Excited by a high BBIQ you imagined, or the poor results? I watch every game, I really can't understand how you can preach a deeper understanding of the game of basketball while dismissing TT's contributions to a team. He plays a winning style of basketball, he's happy with being the 4th or 5th option on the court and giving it his all on the boards and on defense. In this one disaster of season from AB I saw more lazy, careless plays than Tristan's made his entire career. The numbers and eye test back this up, Bennett was a complete train wreck of a basketball player. Doesn't mean he can't bounce back next year, but wow was he just absolutely terrible this year.
