Welcome to The Rotation, our daily playoff wrap-up of our favorite stories, large and small, from last night’s NBA action.
Why aren’t we talking about finding the “Next Tristan Thompson?”
By Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg)
Teams want the next Draymond Green, the next Steph Curry, the next Kristaps Porzingis, the next Kawhi Leonard, but what about the next Tristan Thompson?
Curry is an out-of-this-world shooter, Porzingis an unworldly physical specimen, Green an almost imaginary checklist of a player. Finding the next of those is a longshot, but finding the next Tristan Thompson seems more realistic.
Thompson is 6-foot-9, with an unimpressive 7-foot wingspan. He’s not the most athletic, doesn’t shoot beyond 20 feet and can’t defend point guards as well as he can defend opposing big men.
However, he does just enough of the things you want out of a modern center. He’s long enough to defend the rim and rebound. Quick enough to blitz a ball-handler and recover. He’s got the gritty attitude to do the dirty work. He’s a contemporary version of the Dirty Work Guy, and he shined in the Cavaliers takedown of the Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Thompson has the highest offensive rebound percentage of any player left in the playoffs, by far. The Cavaliers are more than 14 points better per 100 possessions when he’s on the court, and the offense hums when he’s cutting and rolling to the rim.
https://twitter.com/DefPenHoops/status/865015231113830402
And getting more possessions for the trio of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love is like a cheat code.
And flipping his role, becoming a passer in the pick-and-roll like a wide-eyed give-and-go, is a neat wrinkle.
There isn’t going to be another 7-foot-something Latvian who can shoot like Dirk Nowitzki. And scientists don’t have the funding to make another Kawhi Leonard any time soon. But there’s guys in the upcoming draft built like Thompson who just need to find the right role to star in.
Oregon’s Jordan Bell is often compared to Draymond, which is a lofty expectation. Ask him to be your Tristan Thompson and that’s a more manageable role. Wake Forest’s John Collins, who measured in at 6-foot-9 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan, has the same body type as Thompson, with similar quickness and nose for the offensive board.
That’s not to say Tristan Thompsons grow on trees. He’s got an elite feel for the game – -a skill that is hard to measure, but often something that can be earned with playing time and experience. And effort, as they say, is a skill. But those are things more common than what make up the most unique players in the league.
Players like Tristan Thompson don’t make All Star games or All-NBA teams, but they help other guys make All Star games and All-NBA teams. For teams short on unicorns, finding a player like Thompson can help you survive in today’s NBA.
I’m worried about Jaylen Brown in Game 2
By Matt Cianfrone (@Matt_Cianfrone)
Not much went well at all for the Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Isaiah Thomas wasn’t that good, Al Horford didn’t shoot infinity percent from 3-point land again and LeBron James was crazy disrespectful and didn’t even make multiple 3s. It was basically about as bad as things can go for Boston. Except for one guy.
Jaylen Brown was pretty dang good in Game 1. He finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds in 20 minutes but he did more than that. He gave the Celtics the best chance they had at any point in defending and slowing down James. Really he was the only member of the Celtics that never once seemed bothered or shaken by anything going on around him. Which is why I’m worried about him in Game 2.
Because LeBron James notices things. He is going to notice everyone talking about the rookie who “slowed” him down, at least as much as you can slow down a guy who had 38 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. And he is going to be angry enough based on some of the ways the Celtics were fouling him in the second half, like when Isaiah Thomas tried to tackle him or Brown wrapped him near his head underneath the basket. And LeBron James doesn’t forget. Or forgive.
The Eastern Conference Finals are over. Boston just doesn’t have enough players to form lineups that can perform well on both ends against the Cavaliers. They sure as hell don’t have a player capable of slowing down a locked in LeBron (there really are only 1.5 on the planet to be fair). But they aren’t officially over. Which means LeBron James can do mean things.
Jaylen Brown is probably going to be the second best player on the Celtics by the time they can really compete for titles. He is fearless and tough and strong and long and skilled and exciting. He is also in a lot of trouble. It feels obvious LeBron James is going to send a message at some point in this series. And Jaylen Brown feels like the one that will be on the receiving end of it.
At least he will have Game 1.
We. Are. Your. Fronds.
By Daniel Rowell (@danieljrowell)
With 48 minutes remaining in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Amir Johnson tipped a jump ball to Jae Crowder, who passed it back to Isaiah Thomas. Thomas dished the ball to Johnson on a screen, who passed to Avery Bradley, who threw a poorly executed pass to Al Horford that was tipped away. After a loose ball, Boston recovered the possession and fed it back to Thomas as the shot clock was winding down. Thomas dribbled into a corner, was immediately doubled by Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, and had the ball taken away by Love to end the first possession of the game.
And that was kind of it. On the next possession Irving scored a layup, and the Cavaliers controlled a lead for the remaining 47 some minutes.
And sure — I am certain there is a funny story to be said about Isaiah Thomas hugging LeBron James on a layup in the second half or the continued arguments between Marcus Smart and Tristan Thompson on whether Tim Hortons or Dunkin Donuts has a better glazed donut. But what really stuck with me as the Celtics game up a 20-some point lead was — why the hell are there ferns all up on Boston’s postgame stage?
For some reason Boston has about six potted ferns that frame each side of their postgame press conference, and in between interviews, the live NBA video feed just panned to the entryway, lined with ferns, as some Vince Guaraldi Trio types plays freeform jazz, and some security guard in a blue shirt hangs out, probably still waiting for the Boston Celtics to show up to Game 1.
After some extensive google searching, I was able to piece together that these were in fact ~Boston~ ferns in the “TD Garden,” so they get a pass. But it is still really weird. I hope those ferns have a nice home on a humid, warm, spot with ambient sunlight in Danny Ainge’s office and don’t just sit in the dark waiting for Game 2 as the same keyboard solo loops over the speakers and a few reporters wander aimlessly through the hallways trying to find their tape recorders.
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As for the Celtics, we will see what they’ll have to say between a bunch of ferns after Game 2, where hopefully they will be able to tell their fronds that they at least to held a lead at some point during the game.