JT sophomore rank is dropping...
- Thread starter frodoborg
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It's extremely difficult to teach a player how to play "smart." There are some players that just have it and some that don't. JT is a hyper-active player who can provide some good moments with his rebounding, put-backs, and an occasional block shot but he is probably always going to be a frustrating player to watch because his basketball IQ is very low.
Ideally, if the Kings can land a good big man via free agency or the draft, you relegate JT to the bench where he can play 15-25 minutes a game and provide some energy to the team.
Ideally, if the Kings can land a good big man via free agency or the draft, you relegate JT to the bench where he can play 15-25 minutes a game and provide some energy to the team.
yah i think were trying to make JT into something that he is not. Hes a role playing PF, not a go to scorer.
We post him up all game and all he does down there is turn it over, travel or commit a foul. Hes just not good in the post. Hes too uncoordinated and out of control.
He is one of the most frustrating players to watch.
We post him up all game and all he does down there is turn it over, travel or commit a foul. Hes just not good in the post. Hes too uncoordinated and out of control.
He is one of the most frustrating players to watch.
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I should have elaborated.
If we are convinced he is not our future power forward, we should trade him along with Kevin for one right now. I don't think he'd be affective off the bench. Not what we would expect at least. In a perfect world he would go to the bench and work on his game, I just don't see that happening.
If we are convinced he is not our future power forward, we should trade him along with Kevin for one right now. I don't think he'd be affective off the bench. Not what we would expect at least. In a perfect world he would go to the bench and work on his game, I just don't see that happening.
Jason Thompson played point guard in highschool. He played guard his first year in college, then SF and finally center his final two years. I think his basketball IQ is just fine. He's a good passer, and see's the floor well. Almost all of his problem come from not knowing all the little tricks in the post. Both offensively and defensively.
Sending him to the bench would appear to be a punishment to him. It appears that his confidence is way down right now, so sending him to the bench isn't going to help that. He just needs to play his way through it. He needs to find some even ground between being a bull in a china shop or the matador. There is a point where the light goes on in the head of a player. You can see the difference in Greene. He's finally figured it out. I think it will happen for Thompson as well. If it doesn't, then you either make him a permanent backup at some point, or you trade him.
The one thing he has going for him is that he puts in the effort. He wants to be good. Doesn't always happen, but your chances are better if you put in the time.
Sending him to the bench would appear to be a punishment to him. It appears that his confidence is way down right now, so sending him to the bench isn't going to help that. He just needs to play his way through it. He needs to find some even ground between being a bull in a china shop or the matador. There is a point where the light goes on in the head of a player. You can see the difference in Greene. He's finally figured it out. I think it will happen for Thompson as well. If it doesn't, then you either make him a permanent backup at some point, or you trade him.
The one thing he has going for him is that he puts in the effort. He wants to be good. Doesn't always happen, but your chances are better if you put in the time.
Great post and i agree. But i think EVERYONE knows we need a better power forward. If we somehow get an all star forward and we bring Thompson off the bench, i dont see how he would pout. He CLEARLY isn't a starter in this league...not if we want to win anything significant.
Its pretty sad that our 'Glory years' Consist of only one year and an epic failure. I dont wanna go there again...
Its pretty sad that our 'Glory years' Consist of only one year and an epic failure. I dont wanna go there again...
I don't think we need JT to play or think like a PG though. That is part of his problem. I don't want to see him dribbling up court on the break and I don't want any fancy passes from him. I want a PF who thinks like Charles Oakley - not Charles Smith (for you guys who have watched this game longer than a few years).
The Kings have enough talented guards and wing players. They need someone who can own the paint on defense and suck up rebounds. Why is it that the flow of the game seems to go much better when guys like Brockman are in there just taking care of simple things.
The Kings have enough talented guards and wing players. They need someone who can own the paint on defense and suck up rebounds. Why is it that the flow of the game seems to go much better when guys like Brockman are in there just taking care of simple things.
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I disagree with a lot of this. First of all, just because you played PG in high school and 1st year of college does not exclude you from having a bad basketball IQ. I already started a thread last week that was all about JT's basketball IQ so we don't really need to get into that again. Secondly, there are a lot of differences between Greene and JT. You can't just say that the light will go on for JT because it did for Greene. The big difference is that Greene is improving and JT is getting worse. Also, JT is 23 and Greene is 21. It is troublesome that JT hasn't "gotten" it yet after 4 years of D1 basketball and a year plus in the NBA. I also wouldn't go so far as to call him a good passer. Yes, there are moments when he does make very good passes, but those are negated by the incredibly stupid passes and decisions that he makes with the basketball in his hands.
Look, I'm not trying to just bash the kid for no reason. He seems like a good guy and all and there will be a role for him in the NBA for a long time, but he simply isn't starter material right now and probably never will be. IMO, the only reason his stats are somewhat decent is because he gets minutes on a team that scores the 5th most points in the NBA. He doesn't deserve those minutes but coach has no choice because there are no other options.
Look, I'm not trying to just bash the kid for no reason. He seems like a good guy and all and there will be a role for him in the NBA for a long time, but he simply isn't starter material right now and probably never will be. IMO, the only reason his stats are somewhat decent is because he gets minutes on a team that scores the 5th most points in the NBA. He doesn't deserve those minutes but coach has no choice because there are no other options.
I think there is a significant chance that Jason's future in the NBA is precisely as a 4/5 off the bench (he will have to bulk up to play the 5 part). So sending him to the bench is not necessarily "punishment" -- it may be training him for his future role. Now sending him to the bench for a nobody or a brockman might be punishment. But if we are able to get someboyd better here in the upcomign weeks? Bring it on. I have argued in the past that the bench might be a comfort zone and perfect place for a Jaosn style player. He can come in, bring energy (benchers who bring ewnergy are always key), he can hack all he wants wihtout having to worry about foul trouble, and he gets to spend most of his time against smaller second unit players rather than having tough mismatch days against Pau or Howard or whoever. Make him a 4/5 off the bench and he could be quite valuable and keep his place on this team. The pressure would be off, and even these sorts of slumps are no longer such a huge focus.
