A Reasonable expectation for Tigger?

by FrenchToast979 on Feb 20, 2012 1:32 PM CST

I wanted to make a more formal post of this but I have like fifteen minutes until my next class. I was checking the box scores last night and saw Serge Ibaka had 11 blocks. Pretty Impressive. I then went to his page on NBA and was looking at his physicals - pretty similar to Tigger. Their "style" is pretty similar too. Crazy athleticism, but a lack of polish. When I checked the stats they showed that their similarity goes beyond physical measurables.

Since TT is a rookie, I think it's only fair to compare the rookie seasons of both players:

PER GAME

Ibaka - 6.3pts, 5.4reb (1.9 off), 1.3blk, 54%fg, 18.1mpg

Thompson - 7.2pts, 5.5 reb (2.2 off), 1.3blk, 44%fg, 18.6mpg

I would post the per-36 stats, but because their MPG are so similar it really doesn't make much difference. You can check the sources:Ibaka and Thompson.

The stats pretty much speak for themselves here. Ibaka has an inch or two on TT, but according to NBA TT outweighs Ibaka. I would expect Thompson's offensive numbers to be better than Ibaka's in the future because of the nature of our team. (aka we don't have Kevin Durant) If Thompson can put on a bit more weight, and increase his general court awareness, Serge is definitely a 'reasonable' expectation of the player that Tigger can become.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on FearTheSword.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff at FearTheSword

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For blocks, I like to refer to Blk% instead of just the base number, but yeah their rookie years are still close. Ibaka was at 5.5% and Thompson is at 5.2%. Now, that requires a good amount of improvement to reach the status that Ibaka is at now (8.6% and best in the NBA).

Ibaka is basically an elite defender. Do I think TT has the potential to become that…yeah, probably – but I’m not counting on it.

Offensively, Ibaka has a very good midrange jumper. He’s shooting 37% on shots 16-23 ft away, which is pretty close to league average (37.7%). Now, I’m pretty sure the people in the first 10 rows of seats would have to duck for cover if Tigger attempted an 18-footer at this point. That’s the main difference on offense, currently.

FearTheSword, SBNation's Cleveland Cavaliers blog

by Conrad Kaczmarek on Feb 20, 2012 1:49 PM CST reply actions

What site are you using for the breakdown by range. How often does Ibaka shoot those? I honestly don’t watch ibaka much so i can’t speak about his low post defense enough to make that statement, but the stats seemed to jump at me as crazy similar.

by FrenchToast979 on Feb 20, 2012 2:15 PM CST up reply actions

You should check out Hoopdata.com and 82games.com for some cool numbers. Basketball-reference.com is also once I personally like a lot.

With or Without the H

by johnf34 on Feb 20, 2012 2:30 PM CST up reply actions

Hoopdata.com breaks it down by range. He takes about 2.3 of them per game.

FearTheSword, SBNation's Cleveland Cavaliers blog

by Conrad Kaczmarek on Feb 20, 2012 2:36 PM CST up reply actions

Also, TT does not outweigh Ibaka. MYBAD

by FrenchToast979 on Feb 20, 2012 2:20 PM CST reply actions

Do I think TT has the potential to become that…yeah, probably – but I’m not counting on it.

Completely Agreed!

"Hardwork beats talent when talent fails to work hard" -Norm Nixon
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -Confucius

by ChewyFL on Feb 20, 2012 6:01 PM CST reply actions

But just because he may not become “elite” doesn’t mean we can’t be happen with a very good defender.

FearTheSword, SBNation's Cleveland Cavaliers blog

by Conrad Kaczmarek on Feb 20, 2012 6:24 PM CST up reply actions

im sorry what? you know im agreeing with what you said, right?

"Hardwork beats talent when talent fails to work hard" -Norm Nixon
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -Confucius

by ChewyFL on Feb 21, 2012 5:23 PM CST up reply actions