Tristan Thompson

[Photon]

Capable and playing like he is capable are two different things. It used to be different, but SC pretty much did a better job at rebounding last finals. He was really ineffective. I just think DeAndre can be played against everyone else and maybe even create some different looks against GS.
A few minutes of pick and roll game with him could put some goldies into foul trouble and shake up the game flow, which is still their weapon not ours. You have to crowd the paint against him, or he will dunk a few in a row. With our shooters and playmaker (James/Wade/IT) this should work well. We still don’t have players (except LeBron) that can bully their way to the basket, I see him as that option.

 

[JMoneyYourHoney]

Cavs were a top 10 defense two seasons ago when we won the title(and Moz wasn’t a factor due to injury before you give him all of Tristan’s credit)

This is a completely spurious reading of the facts. Blatt had us as a top-5 defense that season with Mozgov used mostly as the starting center (he played more games as our starting 5 than TT in spite of the injury.) He also had Delly and Cunningham to rely on when it came to halting guard penetration.

After Lue took over he waffled back and forth with Mozgov and TT sharing starting 5 duties. It wasn't until we were on the cusp of the playoffs that Lue announced TT would assume full-time starting responsibility.

Our defense ended up top-10, which means we became worse after Lue took over. You can spin that narrative however you'd like; Delly getting hurt, Cunningham being cut. The biggest catalyst for me was the increasing reliance on TT as a starter.

and the equivalent of a top 10 defense in the playoffs last year...

Where at in the top 10? There's only 16 teams in the playoffs each year. If we were 10th you're supporting my argument and hurting yours.

Just because you don’t like the methods that are effective for him

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

This is a completely spurious reading of the facts. Blatt had us as a top-5 defense that season with Mozgov used mostly as the starting center (he played more games as our starting 5 than TT in spite of the injury.) He also had Delly and Cunningham to rely on when it came to halting guard penetration.

After Lue took over he waffled back and forth with Mozgov and TT sharing starting 5 duties. It wasn't until we were on the cusp of the playoffs that Lue announced TT would assume full-time starting responsibility.

Our defense ended up top-10, which means we became worse after Lue took over. You can spin that narrative however you'd like; Delly getting hurt, Cunningham being cut. The biggest catalyst for me was the increasing reliance on TT as a starter.

Of course you blame Lue and TT. I’d expect nothing less of course. Not even going to litigate the David Blatt stuff. Mozgov was terrible when he was playing and was certainly not responsible for much of a positive impact .

Where at in the top 10? There's only 16 teams in the playoffs each year. If we were 10th you're supporting my argument and hurting yours.

You’re misunderstanding my statement.

Thru the first 3 rounds, the Cavs were sporting a DRTG of around 104.8 which would have been good for around #8/30 teams for the 2016-2017 season.

In the finals alone it was 117.1. Ended up dragging us to the 8th best defense out of 16 playoff teams overall(also played the most games against GS...and their dominant unstoppable offense skewed DRTG’s for EVERYBODY..)

TT, when healthy is a plus PnR defender in a league completely saturated with the PnR. His versatility and switchability is very important and a valuable skill. When you combine that with his knack for the offensive glass and lob-threat offensively, he’s a Big with a skill-set that fits in today’s NBA especially next to a LeBron. He’s not a star and never will be but he was a free agent at the right time, on the right team, and he was a key contributor on a title team(And it was bit because of Bogut going down late in the series...)so as far as I’m concerned it was all worth it.

 

[JMoneyYourHoney]

Of course you blame Lue and TT. I’d expect nothing less of course.

I'm looking at plain, direct, incontrovertible facts...our defense became worse under Lue and with TT assuming a larger share of starter's minutes. Who do you blame?

Mozgov was terrible when he was playing and was certainly not responsible for much of a positive impact .

He was still a big body who knew positioning and was capable of blocking a shot here and there. That's more than the sieve that is TT.

I wouldn't discredit his contributions to the title (though I'd still argue that Bogut going down was a bigger deal than a lot of people make.) But the fact is that we'd be a far more lethal and balanced team with a guy like DeAndre in the middle (you seem to agree with this.)

TT and Love are just a horrible pairing. A legitimate big makes everybody's job much easier while also making Love far more effective (and you want to talk about lob targets for LBJ? DJ would be orgasmic.)

We really need to ramp up conversational efforts with the Clippers. The only downside I can see to that trade is we'd be prevented from trading the Brooklyn pick if somebody else becomes available closer to the deadline. That, and we'd be dealing with 3 free agents all seeking the max. But if you can re-sign all those guys AND draft high??? Woah baby...

 

[mhi]

But where does he get minutes? Frye deserves to be given minutes now. He's great with that bench unit. I don't know if I want his minutes cut for TT. Plus TT running with Green and Wade... Pretty much non-shooters

Spot on, like @MirORich said, his minutes will have to come from the starting lineup because he's just not a good fit with that bench. That will likely dampen LJ's stellar numbers thus far but I don't see anywhere else he could fit.

 

[shoes22]

I’m going to hold off on the TT criticism until I see how he looks when he comes back. It’s clear he was not at full health to start the season this year, and didn’t look good as a result.

But TT at 100% IS very much a useful player and offers truly elite rebounding and has a key role on defense. He has to get back to 100% though, because anything less and he becomes a clear negative on the court.

 

[rabman_gold]

He's not perfect, but until we actually add a legitimate 7-footer with all-around defense and the nose for the ball, we're stuck with T.T.

And in a nut shell: he's the only guy on the team to sic at the bigger bodies that Love has trouble defending. He's the only guy on the team that will (consistently) grab the o-boards. Filling that hole we currently have (along with the lack of another primary scorer/facilitator at point guard: Isaiah Thomas) will help plenty (IMHO).

 

[rastamon87]

If the there is any truth on the DJ-TT trade rumors... TT might be all for it so he could be near Hollywood and the Kardashians...

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

 

[Cavatt]

Cavs keep destroying teams with legit big
Centers. Are we sure we really want one? I think unless a guy can really be a mismatch for Golden State like Gasol, why do we want a Whiteside or Jordan?

Robin Lopez is another guy that has the right mix of o, d and is able to guard the perimeter.

I just don't think many centers are truly a good fit

 

[Rich]

Cavs keep destroying teams with legit big
Centers. Are we sure we really want one? I think unless a guy can really be a mismatch for Golden State like Gasol, why do we want a Whiteside or Jordan?

Robin Lopez is another guy that has the right mix of o, d and is able to guard the perimeter.

I just don't think many centers are truly a good fit

Depends on the guy.

DeAndre, yes. He's an elite pick and roll player and is as active as anyone on the boards. Won't demand the ball and can play a more athletic, faster game.

A guy like Whiteside, who wants to post up and isn't an elite athlete? No.

Kiiiinda feel the same about Gasol, but Gasol is just so smart and good all-around I wouldn't be opposed to trying it.

 

[cavsfever]

I would actually trade TT and the Nets pick for Gasol and Tyreke Evans. Gasol is getting older but he is just so smart and multi-dimensional. Especially if you think his three point performance last year was not a fluke.

wouldn't trade the Nets pick for DJ, but definitely would trade TT for him.

But I don't see another team wanting to trade for TT. His contract is just so bad that you aren't getting free of much in the way of contract obligations by getting him, you're just exchanging a better player for a worse player. That contract was really a mistake. Although I guess we won a championship that year and that Finals series was probably his best moment as a Cav, so you have to cut some slack. Still, it makes him very hard to trade.

 

[jvpertz]

Deandre Jordan, Lebron, and Crowder would be a pretty freaking tough out for the Warriors defensively. I mean thats an awful lot of beast mode right there.

Lets also not forget that TT has some monumental mental lapses at times in games.

Deandre Jordan is a FLAT OUT better player than TT. We should be all about that deal.

 

[FrontPageNews]

I think one of the reasons we’ve been better defensively is because we don’t have TT crashing the offensive glass. As nice as offensive rebounds are they leave you out of position in transition if you don’t grab it. Now we have 5 guys getting back every possession

 

[Ozcavs89]

Dj's expiring contract is a blessing or a catastrophe depending on what we give up.

If use the brooklyn pick we, wasted a massive bargaining chip for nothing.

If we could get him just for TT and a packet of chips, if he walks at least we still have the bkn pick and a huge salary dump which we can use to target another very good player that actually improves us

 

[TitleTown]

If we could get him just for TT and a packet of chips

Sure, if we could, that would be great. But we won't. If we're not offering up valuable assets for DJ, then we're not getting him. Period.