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The lesson I'm going to preach is a simple one. Tristan Thompson should not be your primary offensive player.
The lack of depth on Team Canada, especially at the guard positions proved costly. They were overwhelmed by far more experienced and talented international lineups. One look at the names that were being sent to the tournament by Canada would paint a picture of what they had in store ahead of them. Looking at the list of names that did not attend paints an even sadder picture with Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, Kim English, and Tyler Ennis staying home for various reasons.
But obviously as a Cavaliers fan, the most important thing was the development of Tristan Thompson. He finished the tournament with the following averages after 4 games:
|
Minutes: 23.5 |
PPG 13 |
FG% 46.8% |
RPG 7.5 |
APG 0.5 |
FT % 72.7 |
He also chipped in 3 blocks and 3 steals in the four games.
The final game was an obvious low point for Tristan in the tournament. He picked up his third foul of the game in the third quarter, and was basically benched from that point on. He finished with 5 points, no rebounds on 2 of 6 shooting in 15 minutes of play.
While the hand change appears to have made a big difference with his free throw shooting, it is evident to most that watch that it will take some time before he is comfortable shooting a midrange jumper. When he is given time it actually looks not bad, however in the flow of the game he has a tendency to rush the jumper and the form suffers as a result. If you are wondering why Thompson is rushing and forcing shots, when he is normally skilled in taking only what is available to him and not disrupting the offense; it can likely be attributed to one of the following factors:
- He is forcing shots in an effort to show off his hand change. This is certainly possible as he is trying to get in as many reps as possible with his right hand, so that he will feel comfortable by the time he's playing in the NBA again.
- He is being asked to do too much. The fact that this incarnation of Team Canada is pretty terrible has led to a dependence on Tristan Thompson and Andrew Nicholson to shoulder the bulk of the scoring. This is not their ideal roles and as a result, may have lead to some of the poor decisions Tristan took in his shot taking.