Cleveland Cavaliers: Tristan Thompson, the rim protector, and more
By Chris Parker
It’s been a tough start to the season for the Cleveland Cavaliers defensively, but Tristan Thompson has been outstanding.
The Cavs are bad near the rim, but Tristan Thompson has been great
The Cleveland Cavaliers are last in defensive rating, according to NBA.com. Cleveland’s allowing 20.1 points a game off turnovers (tied for 28th), more than 50.0 points a game in the paint (24th) and the third-highest field goal percentage in the restricted area (67.9 percent) behind only Houston (68.0 percent) and Detroit (70.0 percent). There’s been a couple surprising bright spots in the early going, principally the play of Tristan Thompson.
Many have taken note of his rebounding vigilance this season – he’s grabbed the second-most contested offensive rebounds in the league, and Tristan is tenth in overall percentage of available rebounds grabbed. Thompson’s third in total offensive boards per game (4.6) but only 15th in total boards (10.8) due to his less dominant skills on the defensive boards (and the large number of opponent shots that go into the basket).
But Thompson’s also experiencing a sudden dramatic surge in his defensive numbers around the basket. He’s never been the type of player that blocks a lot of shots; he’s only averaged 1.0 blocks or more per game twice in eight seasons. His defensive field goal percentage inside of six feet topped out two years ago at 52.4 percent, 8.1 percent lower than the expectation.
Working his way back from injury last year, Thompson struggled, allowing 65.9 percent on shots within 6 feet, 4.3 percent higher than expectation. But so far this season, he’s turned that around allowing just 47.3 percent inside of 6 feet, more than 14.0 percent lower than expectation. That’s good enough for third-best in the NBA, per NBA.com.
#Cavs Tristan Thompson's defense of the rim has been one of the team's few defensive bright spots so far this season. He's third best in the NBA in net DFG% diff (% opponents shot - expected FG%) within 6 feet.. pic.twitter.com/WMuEVSjk4U
— Chris Parker (@CRS_1ne) November 19, 2018
Some of that is undoubtedly due to Thompson’s improved health after dealing with reported ankle and calf issues last year. Some of it is probably due to the Cleveland Cavaliers changing defensive schemes.