Cleveland Cavaliers: Does Tristan Thompson Give Cavs A Fearsome Foursome?

Tristan Thompson is simply a player you can’t ignore. His talent level gives the Cleveland Cavaliers a Fearsome Foursome, not a Big Three.

Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson has developed his game to a point where his skill shines every night. He’s improving as a passer and rim-protector while continuing to be a versatile defender and an elite rebounder. With the amount of skill he’s shown, the only player who compares is … nobody.

Nobody currently, anyways.

Thompson, who often gets compared to Hall of Fame forward Dennis Rodman, has remarkably similar stats to Rodman when looking at their first five years in the league. Rodman averaged 8.8 points, 9.0 rebounds (3.7 offensive), 1.0 assist, 0.7 blocks and 0.7 steals per game in his first five seasons. Thompson averaged 9.7 points, 8.5 rebounds (3.4 offensive), 0.8 assists, 0.7 blocks and 0.5 steals per game in his five seasons.

The primary difference is that Rodman entered the league at 25-years-old while Thompson entered the league at 20-years-old. When Rodman began to absolutely dominate the league as a rebounder (and improve his playmaking abilities) he was 30-years-old. That’s the first and lone season that Rodman made the All-Star game. In that season, Rodman averaged 9.8 points, 18.7 rebounds (6.4 offensive) and 2.3 assists per game.

For Thompson to average 18.7 rebounds per game, he would have to play more minutes as Rodman averaged 36.4 minutes per game (after his fifth season) across seven seasons with the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls. Even then, Thompson, who averages 28.7 minutes per game, would have to take some of those rebounds away from Kevin Love, who is another elite rebounder, or LeBron James, a do-it-all forward who often initiates the transition offense.

Thompson would average three more rebounds per game if he played Rodman’s minutes, which would bring him to an average of 11.7 rebounds per game for his career. While impressive, that’s still far from the numbers Rodman put up in his prime.

Nonetheless, the only time Rodman averaged an absurd amount of rebounds beside another elite rebounder came from 1993-1995 while playing for the San Antonio Spurs beside David Robinson. Robinson averaged 10.7 rebounds (3.0 offensive) in the 1993-1994 season and 10.8 rebounds (2.7 offensive) the next season. Rodman averaged 17.3 rebounds (5.7 offensive) and 16.8 rebounds (5.6 offensive) per game in those two seasons.

Love currently averages 11.1 rebounds per game this season after averaging 9.7 rebounds and 9.9 rebounds per game in his first two seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers. That doesn’t factor in the 6.8 rebounds per game James has averaged since he returned to Cleveland.

On those Spurs teams, the third best rebounder had 5.0 rebounds per game.

So, when considering all factors, it would seem that despite Rodman’s astronomical numbers, he and Thompson are comparable rebounders. That’s especially true given their size. Rodman was 6-foot-7 and 210 pounds. Thompson is 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds. While Rodman’s slight frame would make it harder for him to bang with bigs in the post for rebounds, his slender body is more able to fit through gaps and burst towards the ball either laterally or vertically. Thompson plays center, unlike Rodman, and so is equally undersized.

At the same time, Rodman was fierce player (two-time Defensive of the Year) on defense who absolutely hounded his opponents with aggressive on-ball defense, and displays of lateral agility on the perimeter.

His ability to guard every position also let him demonstrate his strength in post defense. Thompson isn’t the level of defender Rodman is right now because he’s not nearly as agile but he’s just as versatile.

Thompson, like Rodman, flies over in rotations whether it requires him to step out on the perimeter and get back to the paint to protect the rim. He has relatively quick feet and isn’t likely to be crossed on the perimeter though he can be blown past by quicker perimeter players. He’s strong enough, in terms of both upper body and core strength, to consistently prevent himself from being backed down and his defensive positioning makes it hard for the post players to get a clean shot up.

The last aspect of Rodman’s game is his passing ability, a skill that Thompson is really starting to develop. In the month of February, Thompson averaged 1.6 assists per game. That’s tied for his second-highest monthly average for assists and the most assists he’s averaged since the 2012-2013 season. That season, Thompson was moved to the starting lineup and working in Byron Scott’s Princeton offense.

This season, Thompson not only is becoming the fulcrum of offensive sets by swinging the ball to shooters in the corners and handing the ball off to players after screens, Thompson is doing things like throwing passes to players under the rim while he’s at the top of the key.

So, if Thompson is playing similarly to a Hall of Fame inductee in Rodman, then doesn’t that make him more than just another guy? Rodman is always considered a part of the Chicago Bulls’ Big Three that included Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. In Cleveland, the current Big Three is the trio of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

Yet, in today’s NBA, there’s such thing as a Fearsome Foursome. The Golden State Warriors currently have one with Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. The San Antonio Spurs had one last year with Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and LaMarcus Aldridge and the year before with Duncan, Leonard, Parker and Ginobli. The Boston Celtics had one with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo.

The Cavs, like those teams, don’t have a Big Three. They have a Fearsome Foursome. That’s evident with the talent level of their best three scorers. It’s also evident with the talent of Thompson, a player who can only be compared to a Hall of Famer.

Do you think that Tristan Thompson gives the Cleveland Cavaliers a Fearsome Foursome? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.

*All stats referenced from www.basketball-reference.com