Tyler Zeller: CHOCOLATE SNOW !!!

[Sawduzt]

When Tyler was haivng bad abmes offensively it was because he hesitated on that mid range shot, got closed out then tried to do something to generate a different shot, that was often a lower percentage than the jumper.

[IWantAKouki]

Tyler looked beast tonight. His rebounding was sub-par, but so was everyone's on both teams but Tristan's. Guards were getting a lot of rebounds tonight. Anyhow, Tyler is looking like a very effective scorer with a money mid-range shot that has the potential to go out to 3-pt range if need be. He has a quick release and a feathery touch with his post shots as well.

I love how hiiigh his release is too. Some big men kinda negate their shooting ability and height with a low release. In that regard he's very Z-like.

[Tornicade]

excerpts from an article on Zeller

“The thing I was always struggling with from the beginning was the different schemes. You figure out one scheme and the next team plays something completely different. You have to be able to read those. So, you really start finding your spots and you teammate’s spots against different schemes.”


“I know when I played the Heat the first time,” recalled Zeller. “I mean, you hear about Wade and Bosh and LeBron. Personally, I just take the first couple minutes and say, ‘OK, I’m going to go do what I can.’ And then you start to see. Sure, they’re good; Bron had 30 against us. But he’s still human and you just have to be smart. You just have to know who they are and try to play their tendencies.”

on garnett
(Garnett) can really guard all five positions,” praised Zeller. “He can hedge one screen, get back, hedge another screen, come back down, tag two cutters then get to his man , challenge the shot and then go get the rebound.”
But, as you’d expect from a four-year guy with a big brain, Zeller already began to notice KG’s predilections.
“KG’s a heck of a defender, but he also loves to help weakside to try to block shots,” explained the rookie seven-footer. “So if you space out, he’s going to leave you open. And you start to pick up those kinds of tendencies.


on andy

“Andy’s unbelievable,” said Zeller. “He’s chases down rebounds every time; he never quits. What I’m always impressed with is offensively how he passes and dribbles. He’s a great passer. I’ve always thought, you catch it, you wait until you see something and then you start dribbling. But you always see him probing, and then dribbling into it, then he sees something and he takes off.

“So you just learn little things from him and how to play different ways.”

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/features/zeller-121227

I think the interview says alot of about Zellers Iq and his ability to communicate what he learns.

[Jon]

Tyler showed improvement across the board from November to December, and shook off his problems at the charity stripe dropping 90.5% of his freebies in December. He's not where we want him to be by any means, but his numbers are all heading in the right direction.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/gamelo...1/tyler-zeller

[rabman_gold]

But he's not there yet. Defensively, he's a liability that Thompson has to make up for. I'm sure Zeller realizes this too so he'll get better. Ideally, for the rest of this season, this is what you want as the starting front court. But right now, I think the Andy/Thompson combination works a little better (it's not great though...). But having Andy come off the bench would mean a lot more. We'll just have to tough it out with Zeller.

[Cavatt]

I like his intensity on defense, he just isn't used to the game yet. Nene was punking them last night with veteran moves. I'd really like to see him in the post more. The jumper is cool, but his hook looks really good. Usually goes in.

[Douglar]

I think the interview says alot of about Zellers Iq and his ability to communicate what he learns.

You certainly never heard JJ Hickson talk like that.

Here's another Zeller article that's not nearly as good--

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...proving-top-10

10. Tyler Zeller, Cavaliers | Rookie card

I like his rebounding efforts and overall grit. It serves him well considering his lack of strength and speed. But he's taking two shots a game from 16-23 feet (making 37 percent), far too many shots in total from that range for him. Plus, many of those shots are coming with 12 or more seconds on the clock.

Compare him to Joakim Noah, who also plays with a marvelous scoring point guard (when Derrick Rose is in the lineup). Noah has never taken more than 1.2 shots per game from that range (even though he once made 43 percent from that distance in a season) until this season, though I expect that number to drop once Rose returns.

Zeller would be better off receiving pick-and-pop passes (which is where he's getting most of those shots) and immediately swinging the ball or throwing it back to Kyrie Irving, then running to set another screen. In time he can be a solid pick-and-pop player, but for that to happen he needs to shoot with more flexibility in his legs and keep his weight on the front of his feet and not the heels.

[rabman_gold]

He wasn't guarding Nene. That was Thompson, the better defender. The reason Nene got so much production was 1) He has a few inches and length even on Tristan and 2) when Emeka took Zeller to school at the beginning, that forced Thompson to help and get Nene an easy 3 baskets in the first quarter. Despite that, their backcourt was not productive enough or provided good team work to out do our ball movement.

As for Zeller's article, I think it's still too much thinking and not enough "just do it". He's better than this, but he's hesitant and it turns into turnover after turnover. Either shoot the shot or don't. Have some confidence. We know he can shoot better, so don't let that stupid article confuse anybody since he's the absolute opposite of Joakim Noah (which idiot would compare the two?).

[Tornicade]

that thinking seemed to allow him to exploit a weakness in a top notch defender like Garnett for 20 points. He also is learning players habits and tendencies enough to flush them out in a very detailed fashion. not really concerned about the writer. he had some good quotes that showed far more X's and O;s than a typical player interview. Tyler also seems to have figured out that alt of inconsistency from young players comes from facing a variety of schemes that require a different approach. I know coahces probably tell these guys these thing every day but its nice to see when players actually believe it and dont just tune it out as coach speak. I think it bode well that he understands things in regards to his confidence. He doesnt seem like a guy who will get down after a bad game or two

[Wine and Gold]

excerpts from an article on Zeller

“The thing I was always struggling with from the beginning was the different schemes. You figure out one scheme and the next team plays something completely different. You have to be able to read those. So, you really start finding your spots and you teammate’s spots against different schemes.”


“I know when I played the Heat the first time,” recalled Zeller. “I mean, you hear about Wade and Bosh and LeBron. Personally, I just take the first couple minutes and say, ‘OK, I’m going to go do what I can.’ And then you start to see. Sure, they’re good; Bron had 30 against us. But he’s still human and you just have to be smart. You just have to know who they are and try to play their tendencies.”

on garnett
(Garnett) can really guard all five positions,” praised Zeller. “He can hedge one screen, get back, hedge another screen, come back down, tag two cutters then get to his man , challenge the shot and then go get the rebound.”
But, as you’d expect from a four-year guy with a big brain, Zeller already began to notice KG’s predilections.
“KG’s a heck of a defender, but he also loves to help weakside to try to block shots,” explained the rookie seven-footer. “So if you space out, he’s going to leave you open. And you start to pick up those kinds of tendencies.


on andy

“Andy’s unbelievable,” said Zeller. “He’s chases down rebounds every time; he never quits. What I’m always impressed with is offensively how he passes and dribbles. He’s a great passer. I’ve always thought, you catch it, you wait until you see something and then you start dribbling. But you always see him probing, and then dribbling into it, then he sees something and he takes off.

“So you just learn little things from him and how to play different ways.”

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/features/zeller-121227

I think the interview says alot of about Zellers Iq and his ability to communicate what he learns.

and this is the value of having a player like AV around for our young bigs to watch, learn, and develop their games by watching and practicing against him. The very best teaching aids come from within, in winning organizations ..

[Off-Season God]

and this is the value of having a player like AV around for our young bigs to watch, learn, and develop their games by watching and practicing against him. The very best teaching aids come from within, in winning organizations ..

The other side of the coin is that their presence can stunt players' growth by taking responsibility out of the hands of players who could grow only if they had more responsibility. This could be the case with Tristan and Andy's absence on the court.

[Hydroponic3385]

The other side of the coin is that their presence can stunt players' growth by taking responsibility out of the hands of players who could grow only if they had more responsibility. This could be the case with Tristan and Andy's absence on the court.

TT is getting more playing time than he would just about anywhere else in the league (and more playing time than just about any of his fellow 2011 bigs). If Andy stayed on this team 2-3 more years, and that significantly cut into TT's playing time and team responsibilities, you can perhaps have an argument for AV stunting TT's growth. But as of now that's simply not the case, even if their roles overlap a bit. Learning by watching & playing with Andy, improving by competing against Andy in practice & alongside him in games, etc. are all helping not hurting Thompson.

[Len]

TT is getting more playing time than he would just about anywhere else in the league (and more playing time than just about any of his fellow 2011 bigs). If Andy stayed on this team 2-3 more years, and that significantly cut into TT's playing time and team responsibilities, you can perhaps have an argument for AV stunting TT's growth. But as of now that's simply not the case, even if their roles overlap a bit. Learning by watching & playing with Andy, improving by competing against Andy in practice & alongside him in games, etc. are all helping not hurting Thompson.

[Off-Season God]

TT is getting more playing time than he would just about anywhere else in the league (and more playing time than just about any of his fellow 2011 bigs). If Andy stayed on this team 2-3 more years, and that significantly cut into TT's playing time and team responsibilities, you can perhaps have an argument for AV stunting TT's growth. But as of now that's simply not the case, even if their roles overlap a bit. Learning by watching & playing with Andy, improving by competing against Andy in practice & alongside him in games, etc. are all helping not hurting Thompson.

Really? Then how did Thompson's stats magically become a ton better once Andy got injured? And also we are we all now saying that there is hope for Thompson whereas, 2 weeks ago, we all had no hope for him? It all had to do with Andy getting off the floor. Even RchfldCavRaised is EXCITED. FUCKING RICHFIELD! That has to mean improvement if he's excited, right?

[Hydroponic3385]

Really? Then how did Thompson's stats magically become a ton better once Andy got injured? And also we are we all now saying that there is hope for Thompson whereas, 2 weeks ago, we all had no hope for him? It all had to do with Andy getting off the floor. Even RchfldCavRaised is EXCITED. FUCKING RICHFIELD! That has to mean improvement if he's excited, right?

Have TT's stats improved with Andy off the court? Yes. Will they continue to improve with him off the court? Probably, yes. But my point is that playing WITH Andy has taught TT more than if he had never played with him. In no way does playing with a very good veteran player at a similar position for a couple years hinder a young player from developing, especially if the young player is still getting huge minutes anyway (as TT is).

But I agree with Len - we can take this to the TT thread if we'd like to continue this conversation. This is Zeller's thread.