The Cavs are off to a somewhat surprising 3-3 start and a key piece of their improved play has been the spark 4th overall pick Tristan Thompson has given them off the bench. The “other” rookie along with 1st overall pick Kyrie Irving, Thompson has produced to the tune of 8.3 pionts, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in just under 20 minutes per night, good for a 16.8 Player Efficiency Rating(PER).

The success Thompson is having isn’t indicative of a giant leap in his skill set, however.  The strengths and weaknesses in Thompson’s game are largely the same as scouts saw in college. Sebastian wrote on him here and my other affliation, DraftExpress, also profiled him.

This is both good and bad depending on the perspective of the observer.  Good in that it shows his strengths provide him with an effective role in the NBA already. The bad being that he still has a ways to go in order to fully tap his potential as a player.  While he’s obviously not finished developing as a player at 20 years old, progress is something fans are always impatient to see.

Let’s take a look at which part’s of Thompson’s game have translated to the NBA.

Strengths:

Moving without the ball:

Thompson moves well without the ball, something he showed while at Texas and a skill that generally translates well when making a jump in competition levels.  Thompson is particularly adept at finding the opening when his defender goes to provide weakside help with dribble penetration, a particularly useful skill to have when playing with Kyrie Irving.

Offensive rebounds:

The other primary source of half-court offense for Tristan right now is off offensive rebounds.  He’s currently scoring at a rate of 1.182 points per possession off of offensive rebounds, a very good figure for how frequently he grabs them (11.8% offensive rebounding percentage).  Thompson pursues the ball very well and has a very quick and explosive second jump, allowing him a second attempt at the ball before the defense has recovered.

Overall, offensive rebounds and cuts to to the basket have combined for approximately 50% of Thompson’s possessions so far this season.

Shot blocking

Averaging 3.1 blocks per 36 minutes, Thompson is showing that his length, quickness off his feet and timing have translated to the next level. He has also shown the ability to be a capable post defender, although he could still add a bit of lower body strength.  He still fouls too frequently, a malady that can hopefully be cured with experience.

Weaknesses:

Shooting:

Thompson’s jump shot still has a long way to go.  He shot only 30.8% on jump shots last year, putting him in the bottom quarter in all of college basketball. He also only made 54.6% of his attempts from the free throw line while at Texas.  So far, that hasn’t changed.  Thompson has shot only 45.5% from the line on limited attempts this season, and has made one shot from beyond nine feet this season.

The biggest downfall of this, perhaps even more so than the misses, is how much it can mess up the Cavs spacing. In the following clip, watch how much defenders can sag off him and clog the lane on pick and rolls and dribble penetration from the guards.

Defensive rebounding:

Another weakness that has carried over from college has been poor defensive rebounding.  Thompson has a defensive rebounding rate of only 17.7% on the season, a below average number for a big man. Thompson’s rebounding is largely based off his length and athleticism right now. If he wants to be an above average defensive rebounder, he will definitely have to improve his technique. Here is a clip of some of Thompson’s defensive rebounds with the Cavs. Take notice at how much he relies on sheer leaping ability to corral a rebound instead of playing angles and carving out space.

Post offense:

Thompson (or maybe the Cavs staff) have noticed this weakness in his game and haven’t been using him in these spots much. The same cannot be said at Texas, where it accounted for nearly 40% of his offensive possessions despite him not being a very capable threat on the block. Thompson lacks anything in the way of real advanced counter moves, is uncomfortable with his weak hand and tends to be turnover prone.  When looking at his primary weaknesses, this is the one that will likely take longest to improve, if it ever does.

Overall, Thompson is playing well and filling a much needed energy role off the bench for the Cavs. He certainly has the tools to be impactful at both ends of the court, but first, he must correct and improve some of the weaknesses that have been prevalent in his game thus far.

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