National Basketball Association

Tristan Thompson's Absence Shows A Roster Weakness For The Cavs

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Tristan Thompson will miss the Cleveland Cavaliers next two preseason matches as he deals with a stiff left foot.

Tristan Thompson, who has never missed a regular season game in his entire career, is suddenly looking like a box marked with the word “Fragile”.

While Thompson presumably could play if he needed to and the Cleveland Cavaliers are only holding him out of these next two games for precautionary measures, fans have to wonder if Thompson will miss time in the regular season.

If he does, the Cavs only have one center behind him on the depth chart, Chris Andersen. While Channing Frye can play center, he’s not nearly as mobile as Thompson or the force on the boards.

Thompson is player who excels because he does what the Cavs want and need him to do. He frees up shooters like J.R. Smith with solid screens. Last season, Thompson recorded 3.1 screen assists per game in the playoffs. That’s a mark that was good for seventh in the postseason.

The Cavaliers only recorded 6.9 screen assists per game in the postseason as a team. That put the team ninth, in the bottom half of the playoff pack, in terms of how much they use screens to score. However, the team stat highlights just how important Thompson is to Smith being successful.

Last season, Smith shot the ball off of screens 16.6 percent of the time and made 42.9 percent of his field goal attempts in those situations. That number may seem average but Smith shot from behind the three-point line 80.3 percent of the time in the playoffs.

Thompson was also highly effective as the roller off of pick-and-rolls. Twenty-one percent of Thompson’s offensive possessions came as a roll man and he made 67.0 percent of his field goals in this situation. He was also fouled 24.2 percent of the time.

Defensively, Thompson was also a key piece because he can both compensate for Kevin Love‘s lack of athleticism and guard players on the perimeter after switches. In isolation situations, Thompson held his man to 34.6 percent shooting from the field. Thompson’s all-around defensive impact is one of the major reasons that he remains in the starting lineup, despite his lack of rim-protection.

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If the Cleveland Cavaliers were ever forced to play without Thompson for an extended period of time they would find themselves in a conundrum unless they add depth to the center position.

Andersen is a capable rim-protector although he shouldn’t be guarding players on the perimeter. He is decent at setting screens for assists and recorded 1.8 screen assists per game for the Memphis Grizzlies last year.

Frye is also a capable rim-protector. LeBron James, as he stays true to his billing as a 1-5 player, is a capable rim-protector as well and obviously mobile enough to guard on the perimeter.

None of these players are ideal for replacing Thompson as a starter, if he should miss an extended period of time. Hopefully, these are the last two contests the Cleveland Cavaliers will be without Thompson. His absence makes things a bit more difficult for the defending NBA champions than they would like until they get better depth behind him.

The Cleveland Cavaliers play against the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 8 at home. Then the team will travel to Atlanta, GA to play against the Atlanta Hawks in what will be the first ever Unity Game on Oct. 10.

What are your thoughts on Tristan Thompson’s injury? While it doesn’t appear serious, what would be a good backup plan if he is out for an extended period of time? Let us know in the comments section or on Twitter @KJG_NBA.

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