Cleveland Cavaliers: Who is Marcus Thornton?

Who is Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Marcus Thornton?

When the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Marcus Thornton, a point guard who was most recently seen playing for the NBA G-League’s Canton Charge, to a 10-day contract, there was obvious confusion.

No, the Cavaliers didn’t sign 8-year NBA veteran Marcus Thornton. In fact, they signed a 25-year-old guard who was the 45th pick in 2015 NBA Draft, selected by the Boston Celtics. Looking at the Celtics’ preference for athletic guards (Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley (traded) and Isaiah Thomas (traded)), Thornton fits the physical profile of what the Celtics have wanted in the Brad Stevens Era.

A four-year player out of William & Mary, and the school’s all-time leading scorer, Thornton is a Maryland-native (in fact, Thornton was Maryland’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2011) with tremendous bounce.

He has a 43-inch max vert that he doesn’t hesitate to put on display if he gets past his defender. At 6-foot-3 with a near 6-foot-8 wingspan, Thornton also has great length for his position.

The only area where his stature works against him is when it comes to defending perimeter players with post skills and fighting over screens; at his listed weight of 177 pounds, he’s simply too slight not to have trouble in those areas. Without finding a way to slither around screens or attack the ball early in the post, it’s likely those will tend to be problem areas for Thornton.

Nonetheless, after averaging 17.1 points and 2.4 assists per game (while shooting 43.0 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from three-point range) in college, Thornton showed where he excelled as a player. He’s a scorer and knockdown shooter with the ability to make plays for others. He utilizes his athleticism on both ends in order to make not just “a” play but “winning” plays.

Thornton gets most of his looks out of the pick-and-roll as the screens allow him to do quite a few things:

(1) He can shoot off-the-dribble from three-point range or the midrange.

(2) With a somewhat limited ball-handling package, he can use screens to get separation from defenders before utilizing his athleticism to get to the rim.

(3) Thornton has shown the ability to make any pass out of the pick-and-roll that he needs. It’s likely that his assist numbers are so low because his role called for him to be a scorer and shooter more than a facilitator. Nonetheless, Thornton is a playmaker.

With incredible stop-start ability, Thornton can also create separation from defenders without a pick, though it’s easier to take advantage of a defender who has been screened properly.

On the Cavs, Thornton is a player who could knock down shots off-ball and thrive. In fact, he’s such a deadeye shooter, he’ll dot the eyes of any defender who thinks they have him thoroughly covered. When he’s making plays off-the-dribble, like Jordan Clarkson, he’s an athlete that can get to the rim at will and make plays for others because of that ability.

Defensively, Thornton also has a chance to make an impact if he’s active enough and makes it a point to study his opponent’s tendencies. Not too many point guards with his length and athleticism exist in the NBA and he has an obvious physical advantage from that standpoint. He only needs to become a sponge in film study and he’ll have the tools needed to standout as a defender.

The biggest issue for Thornton so far has been his inability to seize an opportunity and excel on a consistent basis. After being drafted by the Celtics, Thornton played 15 games for Boston in the Summer League (from 2015-2016 to the 2016-2017 season). He shot 31.6 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from three in 2015-2016 (5.1 points per game). Even in international play, Thornton only shot 37.7 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from three (12.8 points per game) for the NBL’s Sydney Kings (28 games).

Then, appearing 12 games for the NBA G-League’s Maine Red Claws, he shot 45.7 percent from the field but just 35.9 percent from three (13.6 points per game). He did step it up in the G-League playoffs that year, shooting 52.4 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three (15.5 points per game). However, that was only a two game sample.

As seen from any highlight tape, Thornton has had the tools to be a successful pro but truly struggles with consistency.

He shot 29.6 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from three in Summer League competition the next year (3.3 points per game). Playing 30 games for Consultinvest VL Pesaro that season, in Italy’s Lega A, Thornton shot 43.6 percent from the field but just 34.2 percent from three (13.5 points per game).

Going back to the States, played 5 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2017-2018 Summer League circuit and averaged 18.2 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from three (6.0 points per game). However, Thornton found himself in a great situation when he was traded to the Canton Charge.

The Charge, coached by a former point guard in Nate Reinking, are a team that thrives on guard play and perimeter shooting. As a result, Thornton has consistently been put in position to succeed. This season, Thornton was shooting 41.4 percent from the field but 40.8 percent from three (18.8 points per game), hearkening back to the days when he was CAA Player of the Year (2015).

The Cavaliers, who were required to add a 14th player on their roster within the next two weeks, selected Thornton for a spot where there is only one volume scorer at point guard (Clarkson) and that guard isn’t a knockdown shooter. Essentially, Thornton will bring a different dynamic than what any of the Cavaliers current crop of lead guards bring.

It will be interesting to see if Thornton thrives on a team that thrives when they’re knocking down the long-ball with volume and consistency. However, it’s hard to tell where he’ll get minutes from outside of garbage time.

With Jose Calderon entering free agency this summer and the possibility that George Hill is bought out of his contract in the event LeBron James leaves in the summer, this could also be a move made with an eye on next season.

*All stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com and basketball.realgm.com