Tristan Thompson: Pick 4, Future 4
Photo by lobo235 via Flickr
What once started as a simple phrase has emerged as a collective feeling in Northeast Ohio over the past few years: “Only in Cleveland”. The entire psyche of a city can be boiled down in those three simple words. This tends to happen when your city’s three professional sports teams haven’t won a championship which currently exists (Super Bowl, World Series, or NBA Finals) since 1948 or a pro championship of any kind since 1964. We’ve all seen the “Cleveland Fail Montage” that various networks have queued up, ready to play as another Browns, Indians, or Cavaliers’ season comes to a crashing end. Like lake effect snow coming off Lake Erie in the winter, we all know it’s coming, but there’s nothing we can do to stop it.
Given the “Only in Cleveland” frame of mind, it seemed fitting that 2011 would be the year that the Cavs landed the first and fourth picks in the NBA Draft – a draft considered to be one of the weakest in recent memory. Of course, from the moment that the ping pong balls bounced the Cavs’ way and Nick Gilbert endeared himself to America with his, “What’s not to like?” quip, Kyrie Irving was tabbed as the top pick and point guard of the future in Cleveland. The more interesting, unknown decision was what the Cavs’ front office would do with the fourth pick.
The popular choice among fans was Jonas Valanciunas, the 19 year old, 6’11” prolific scorer from Lithuania. After all, the last time the Cavs decided to pair a number one overall pick with a Lithuanian center, it resulted in the winningest regular season team in the league in 2008-09 and 2009-10, two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, and the franchise’s only NBA Finals appearance before both departed for South Beach in the summer of 2010. Given these expectations, it came as more than a mild shock when David Stern stepped to the podium and announced Tristan Thompson from the University of Texas as the Cavs’ pick. Many Cavs’ fans had the same thoughts running through their head: Don’t we already have an abundance of power forwards on this roster? Why didn’t we take Jonas, keep him overseas, get another high pick this year, and bring Jonas over next year? While the JJ Hickson for Omri Casspi trade helped address the first thought, the second is still a valid question being asked today. However, Thompson’s play thus far has helped to alleviate a number of fans’ concerns, mine included.
Let’s start with the good. First and foremost, Thompson can leap out of the gym. Draft Express listed his vertical jump at 35 inches, and every bit of it has been on display in the early part of this season. Going forward, he will have to use this to his advantage if he is going to be an impact power forward as he stands an undersized 6’9”. On the defensive end, Thompson is recording an impressive 1.8 blocks per game. In addition to his raw ability to sky above the rim, his second jump ability is impressive as well. Unofficially nicknamed “Tigger” among the Cavs Twitterati for his tendency to bounce off the floor, he should be able to secure offensive rebounds and get put back opportunities at the rim.
Secondly, Thompson’s energy off the bench has provided a spark for what’s proven to be a productive second unit for the Cavs. In fact, you could make the case that the Cavs’ second unit of Ramon Sessions, Daniel Gibson, Alonzo Gee, Thompson, and Samardo Samuels has outperformed the starting lineup of Irving, Anthony Parker, Omri Casspi, Antawn Jamison, and Varejao as the bench unit boasts a better defensive points per possession allowed and plus/minus rating. Thompson reminds me of a younger Anderson Varejao whose role early in his career was to come in off the bench and make hustle plays that created opportunities for the other guys on the floor. Varejao was able to parlay his energy into a starting role within a short amount of time, and there is no reason why Thompson can’t do the same.
With the good comes the bad though, and I can already tell two things about Thompson so far that will drive Cleveland fans mad this year. The first is that he tends to be slightly overanxious as a shot blocker. While his tremendous leaping ability has led to some highlight blocks, it has also resulted in a multitude of goaltending violations already this season. Thompson’s timing seems to be a fraction of a second off as he is meeting the ball just as the ball begins to descend from its apex. While it’s good to be aggressive, Thompson can be overaggressive at times which has cost the Cavs points. It’s too early to tell if Thompson is still adjusting to the speed of the NBA game or if it’s simply a skill issue, but it is something that needs to be worked on.
Second, Thompson’s free throw shooting is excruciating to watch. This was one of the criticisms that was brought up when Thompson was selected over Valanciunas since Jonas shot an eye-popping 91.7% from the charity stripe in Europe during the 2010-2011 campaign. Thompson, on the other hand, shot .487 from the foul line during his only year at Texas, and is currently sitting at .368 for the Cavs in 13 games. Poor free throw shooting has been a staple for the Cavaliers for years; in fact, the last time they finished in the top half of the league in free throw percentage was 2003-04, LeBron’s rookie season, when they were 14th. Adding Thompson to the mix certainly will not help matters. For a team that will struggle to score at times due to not having a consistent scorer on the roster, it is essential to not leave points at the free throw line like they did against Indiana when they went 18-31 from the line and lost in overtime. The fact that knocking down 50% of his free throws this year would be considered a stretch goal is depressing at best and seriously alarming at worst. Thompson needs to have an expectation going forward that he will continue to focus his time on this element of his game during the offseason.
Generally when holding the number four pick in the draft, the last thing you want to hear Jay Bilas say is “He just needs to learn how to play and how to score,” but Cavs fans have felt much more positive since draft night. While the Cavs aren’t likely to seriously contend for a playoff spot this season, they do have solid foundation pieces in Irving and Thompson which serve as hope that maybe, just maybe, there is a light at the end of the rebuilding tunnel. Rest assured, the Tristan Thompson Experience is sure to be a fun progression to track this year through its ups and downs, but we can be positive about one thing; there is just one place that fans can see him in his home uniform…only in Cleveland.
Oster-Tags: cleveland cavaliers, Tristan Thompson
