The Tristan Thompson Breakfast Slam
Never mind the fact that we spent 45 unsuccessful minutes trying to accurately describe his jump shot*, or that he hails from a Canadian suburb known more for being misinterpreted as the birthplace of Wayne Gretzky** than anything significant, Tristan Thompson has spent the past two months emerging as an NBA star.
We use the word star by design, in this case, and not hyperbolically. It’s Thompson’s performance since Cleveland Cavaliers big man Anderson Varejao was sidelined for the 2012-13 campaign, after all, that tells the tale of why.
At just 21 years old, Thompson is no 20-and-12, Kevin Garnett-like figure, perhaps he’ll never be. He’s not on pace to lead the NBA in scoring in X amount of years or the sportsbook favorite to win any MVP honors either.
What Tristan Thompson is, however, is a genuine post player whose recently shown glimpses of just how valuable an asset he can be. That’s fascinating and substantial, perhaps more so than any blindly ambitious claim of looming superstardom, because all of that’s real.
When Andy Varejao hobbled away from action with a torn muscle in his leg back in December, the window of opportunity presented to Thompson was a novel one, an exciting one. When it was revealed that the Brazilian big man would be out much longer after suffering a blood clot in his lung following surgery to repair said leg injury, the tone of the Cavaliers’ season changed.
While all is well that ends well – Varejao’s said to be coming along nicely, soon to be off medication and expected to travel with the team in the coming months – Thompson has been left a changed man.
[php snippet=1]
Over the course of his previous 18 months with the Cavaliers franchise, Thompson was a promising albeit slightly unfulfilling prospect – the bacon and egg breakfast of the up and coming NBA star world. There were tastes of what the 2011 fourth-overall pick could accomplish over the course of a night’s work, but rarely enough to leave you thoroughly satiated when you actually got up to leave the table.
That’s what Varejao was for, the complementary pile of toast in this Cleveland Cavaliers breakfast analogy.
For too long the wiry power forward with the soft hands and lithe frame fell into the routine of logging 10 and 8 box scores, leaving Cavs fans to wonder when, and eventually if, the young prospect would ever live up to expectations they’d set out for him.
Hailing from Brampton, Ontario, a short drive outside of metropolitan Toronto, Thompson was a can’t miss prep icon. His rise to circuit fame first in Canada and then eventually New Jersey, Nevada and Texas made him the obvious draft choice at No. 4 to blossom in the Cavaliers organization alongside first-overall pick, point guard Kyrie Irving.
Fortunate enough to be thrust into an opportunity where he would consistently top the 25-, 30-minute marks, Thompson soon grew accustomed to life in the NBA, and although it wasn’t until veteran Antawn Jamison departed the franchise and Varejao started missing time that he started seeing plays called for him, he managed to keep his head above water in an adequate but utterly unimpressive manner.
Recently, though, Thompson has transitioned from a bit player to one worth top billing. Fans have noticed, but of course so too has head coach Byron Scott.
Starting the day after Varejao injured his leg, Thompson shifted into a gear nobody quite expected from the young man. A gear, let’s clarify, that Cavs fans had long pined for and deep down knew existed, but had given up hope of witnessing any time soon.
Double doubles fast became routine, while the young man’s time on the court climbed from around the 30-minute mark to upwards of 36-plus. The Cavs weren’t exactly winning ball games at any particularly noticeable rate, but no less so than they were prior.
Overnight, it seemed that Cleveland had transformed from a glorified D-League roster anchored by the lone superstar Irving and his overachieving big buddy Varejao, to a legitimate, up-and-coming young franchise littered with promising building blocks.
In January, Thompson finished his first full month as a go-to option with averages of 15.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. He did so in just over 34 minutes per game, suggestive of further growth when Scott feels comfortable enough to give him co-pilot keys alongside Irving on a nightly basis.
If entrusted with regular starter minutes, it’s not out of the question to expect 18 points a night and 11, maybe 12 rebounds.
Although it could reasonably be expected that when Varejao returns to the court next season, Thompson might slink back into the shadows, it’s far from inevitable. Given where the Cavaliers are and where they aspire to be, the fact that Thompson has surfaced as a productive post option, and one that doesn’t eat through opportunities reserved for Irving or even 2012 rookie Dion Waiters, is a borderline jackpot in context.
He might not be bumping the rest of the team off of billboards anytime soon, but that’s something he’s more than comfortable with. It’s more satisfying, we’ll remind you, to be a legitimate star, than a superstar that came up short.
Besides, the less you eat at breakfast, the more you can get away with at lunch and dinner.
*With the finesse of a man simultaneously struck by lightning / resemblant of a Shawn Marion pumped full of helium / smoother than a Steve Nash floater, provided Steve shot said floater at the exact moment in time he fell from a ladder.
**Brantford, people. Brantford.
[php snippet=1]
