a lot of criticism about tim that i think is unfair. i saw him when he played in philly and he is inconsistent. but one thing you overlooked. he has never been on a team with a star point guard that will set him up. he can drain open shots just like van horn. he is also quicker and more athletic than van horn. i remember in philly he could jump into the rafters. pick and roll alley-oop anyone? now i am not going to sit here and say that we got a potential all-star becuase i am naive. but i do think at the worst it was a lateral move that will make us athletic. and if the rumors are true about wallace ( unless he goes to detroit- if that happens you can kiss wallace bye bye) then the frontcourt of nazr, sheed and tt is impressive in its own right.

also i am the few who thinks the jewel of the trade is nazr. yeah, i know i am bias becuase i am a kentucky fan who love kentucky alumni but check this. we received a young athletic center who can run the floor and loves to block shots. he has some post up moves but mutumbo will definately teach him some more ( imagine nazr implementing the jump hook a la dikembe to his arsenal next year?). yeah, he has some weaknesses like his limited offense ( which could improve) and constant foul trouble ( which HAS to improve). but i like him and i think he is definately our center of the future.

the one thing that I have not had the chance to think about much are the teams that TT was playing with. When I think of Ray Allen, Cassell, Big Dog, EJohnson and TT, I think that TT is forth in line to get into the offense and not very many good opportunities to get involved and developed.

Who was around to show that kid how to be a good big man? Anthony Mason? Is/was George Karl a good development coach?

Posted by jazz74:

also you have to remember that cassaell hardly past the ball in milwakee. he was a gunning point guard. not a set up person.

right, shoot first PG. And is Big Dog the kind of guy that likes to sit in the post? If so, that only means TT is out on the perimeter all the time.

Posted by jazz74:



also i am the few who thinks the jewel of the trade is nazr. yeah, i know i am bias becuase i am a kentucky fan who love kentucky alumni but check this. we received a young athletic center who can run the floor and loves to block shots. ( which could improve) and constant foul trouble ( which HAS to improve). but i like him and i think he is definately our center of the future.

One thing he does NOT do is block shots. Isiah when talking about Nazr even stated how he felt blocked shots were an over-rated stat. I guess you didn't go to too many Kentucky games when you were there.

thats absolute crap. Blocked shots are very important. See Mutombo's effect on our lineup.. You need that help side defense, off the ball threat to change easy shots in the lane. Its vastly underrated IMO.

Posted by MaTT4281:

How did he do while playing with Gary Payton last year?

that is a great question but you have to remember. gp was playing for self becuase of his contract year. he was'nt thrilled being in the east anyway. so you have to put that under perspective. i think this is the best team that tt can thrive in. he would'nt have to create shots, he is third or fourth option and has a liscense to run the floor. i am not saying he is not going to fail but this is probably his best chance to succeed.

But uhm... yeah. Tim Thomas has played with numerous all star-quality guards in his career, from Iverson to Allen to Cassell to Payton to Redd.

He thus far in his career has not stepped up and made a clear role for himself on any of his teams- you can probably put part of the blame on him but also on his coaches, who couldn't make up their minds on what he should play. At his size/athleticism, he should make a pretty nice PF, but he has shied away from that role. His shot breakdown (from another post) shows he takes more jumpers than KVH and takes fewer shots near the basket, suggesting that he does not like to mix it up.

I hope under the tutelage of Thomas and Wilkens he learns that in order to be successful in NY, he needs to be tougher than ever. He showed some willingness this year, playing some PF/C defensively.

On the overall goodness chart, here's how I rate our SF's over the last 15 years (not everyone is in this list, but close...). Where will Thomas fit in?

Sprewell
Mason
LJ
KVH
X-Man
Penny
Newman
Shandon Anderson
Charles Smith
Chris Mills
Tony Campbell
Kenny Walker

Lee Nailon
Doug Christie
John Wallace
Anthony Bonner
Brad Lohaus
Travis Knight
Walter McCarty

Posted by dodger78:

I think besides the fact, that a blocked shot means no basket for your opponent and often a TO!!! i think more important is the fact, that your perimeter guards can defend a lot more aggresivly because when they are passed by their opponents there still is a tall guy ready to help out!!!!

ya. i dont kno whats up wit this "blocks mean nothing" trash lately

Well, not so much blocks but having shot blocking threats are important--- Shot blockers, whether they accumulate actual statistical blocks or not, lower FG%.