Thompson's Feeling Like Himself After Turbulent Start to Celtics Career

https://www.nba.com/celtics/news/sidebar/post-020321-thompsons-feeling-like-himself-after-turbulent-start-to-celtics-career







Thompson's Feeling Like Himself After Turbulent Start to Celtics Career


By Marc D'Amico | @Marc_DAmico
Celtics.com

February 4, 2021


Tristan Thompson is starting to look like himself. More importantly, he’s starting to feel like himself.

The 29-year-old big man has seemingly turned the corner and found a rhythm with the Boston Celtics following an unconventional and underwhelming introduction to his new organization. He just rattled off his top two performances of the season on back-to-back nights, averaging 15 points and nine rebounds during that set while shooting an impressive 85.7 percent from the field.

During this recent surge, Thompson has looked every bit like the player the Celtics came to hate throughout the first nine years of his career. Admittedly, it took a while for him to reach this point as he navigated a challenging start to his career with the Celtics.

Thompson signed with Boston just days before training camp opened up, and when camp did begin, he didn’t exactly hit the ground running.

In fact, he literally could not run at all. He instead was stuck rehabilitating a strained hamstring that did not allow him to return to game action until Opening Night on Dec. 23.

Thompson did his best to learn on the job during the first two weeks of the season before he hit yet another roadblock. He was one of a group of Celtics who were placed into the NBA’s Health and Safety protocols regarding the COVID-19 virus Jan. 7. Thompson was forced to quarantine for a week and did not return to game action until Jan. 15 – nine days after his last appearance.

The nearly three weeks since have been far more promising with regard to his potential impact on this team. He has logged at least eight rebounds during seven of his 10 games since returning, all while showcasing heightened aggression on offense and improved chemistry defensively. This stretch culminated with his two most recent games, which featured 17 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday night in Sacramento, one night after he tallied 13 points and eight rebounds in Golden State.

It is important to mention that he has logged these numbers while averaging just 23.5 minutes of playing time during those two contests. His per-36 averages during the two games were 22.6 points and 13.6 rebounds.

Following his most recent performance Wednesday night, Thompson that his spike in production was initiated by an evaluation and pep talk that he received from none other than himself.

“I just looked in the mirror and just said, ‘Get back to being who I’ve been the last couple of years in Cleveland; a guy that’s been aggressive on both ends, and a guy whose game has gotten better,’” he recalled.

That conversation, along with the absence of further roadblocks, has allowed him to finally find a rhythm and find a comfort zone with these Celtics.

“It was always some kind of bump in the road,” he said of the early portions of the season, “and now that I’ve been able to play for three weeks straight, just trying to get back to being myself, and I felt like that these last two games.”

Thompson’s ascension is an important development for the Celtics. They targeted him during the offseason for a reason. Boston sought to add a physical, tough, versatile and defensive-minded big man to its rotation, as well as a player who could bring championship experience to an otherwise young team. Thompson has been a leader since the day he arrived in Boston, and now that he’s playing at his accustomed level, the Celtics have exactly what they thought they acquired through free agency.

“He’s extremely important,” teammate Jayson Tatum said of Thompson’s value to the team. “Just his championship pedigree, his voice, his leadership, and obviously his play. One of the best big-man defenders in the league and one of the best rebounders.”

Tatum then darted ahead a few months, to what he and the Celtics hope will be a long and fruitful playoff run.

“You just think about the guys we’re probably going to have to play against in the Playoffs,” Tatum said, likely thinking about the likes of Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. “He’s extremely valuable.”

That value has become very evident during the first two games of Boston’s West Coast swing. Thompson has shown all of his doubters that he didn’t suddenly lose his abilities, and he wasn’t the wrong signing for the Celtics. He just needed time.

Now, six weeks into the season and three weeks into consecutive game play, Thompson is looking like himself and feeling like himself. That’s a promising development for a Celtics team that needs superstar role players like Thompson to perform at a high level in order to reach its lofty goals this season.


Bob


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Fingers crossed.

It's a step forward if those last couple of games are the real deal with Thompson.

If Thompson is healthy he's a double-double machine.  The difference between double-double machine Enes Kanter and double-double machine Tristan Thompson is that Thompson plays defense too.  They both board, both of their offenses are off of dump-ins and cleanup.  Neither of them are worth a shit outside of 5'.  Kanter's ft% is better, that's about all the significant differences.  

Kanter averaged 8.1ppg on 57.2%, 7.4rpg (2.8 offensive), .7bpg and shot 71% from the line.  So far this season, which started off rough but could be better from here out, Thompson has averaged 6.9ppg on 50.5%, 8.4rpg (2.7 offensive), .5bpg, and is shooting 63.2% from the line.  Defensively, where the stats don't really reveal as much, I don't see how there can be a comparison.  Kanter was a turnstile.  You can shoot over Thompson, but you can't move him. If Thompson's game starts improving now then we're good.


Bob

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dbrown4 wrote:Yeah, watch out if RWill develops a 3-point shot over the summer!!  He's very Russell-esque with his tip outs if he can't get both hands on it for a rebound.  Still needs a cheeseburger and some time in the weight room to look like Giannis.  

db

I like both at the 5 with Theis getting more minutes at the 4. RWill has upside, if this franchise can’t develop a kid with those kind of attributes, well shame on us....

He has b2b good games and....we lose both of them.

stuff happens, kids. we aren't winning, but I think we are progressing and TT needs to be a big part of that. Teague is the guy who has really dissappointed me.