01-29-2024, 04:49 PM
My 2-cents on the great THJ debate of 2024. It kind of reminds me of the Wood discussion last season…including the outsized emotion. Wood is an obviously talented offensive player that can’t find a home or any money, yet people here lost their minds when you suggested the obvious.
THJ is also an obviously talented offensive player. But, there are issues and they are mainly around his D and the limits to his game at his size.
1. Defense: He’s the worst defender on the team. Yeah, its cool he takes charges and all, but worst D-Rating and DBPM and if you dig through 82-games, he’s got the biggest On-Off defensive spread on the team (by a mile). He kills the defense of any lineup you run with him…period.
2. Lineup Construction: THJ’s injury was an aspect of the WCF playoff run. It wasn’t because he sucks…he doesn’t. It was because without another guard with limited creation ability, Dallas was able to keep two of their three creators on the court at all times without sacrificing size. Do spot-up and motion shooters have a place in the league? Yes, but they do create issues if they can’t defend and can’t create for themselves and others (outside of ‘creating’ a contested 3 with a defender in his face).
3. Consistency: This has come up today and they spent some time on this on the “Locked-On” podcast today as well. When Dallas shoots 37% or better as a team they are 18-4 (third best for teams when they shoot over 37%). When other teams in the top of the league in this stat shoot under 37% they all have winning records. But, Dallas is 7-17 when they shoot under 37%. The reason is those other good teams have something else to go to. Dallas doesn’t. On nights Tim shoots over 30% the team is 18-10. When Tim shoots under 30% they are 4-8. A bench guy shouldn’t have that kind of impact on the overall record. But if you have him you have to play him. It isn’t the inconsistency as much as it it the limits to his game. Many of the PF’s we seem to be targeting have other tricks in their bag besides what Tim has.
His one-trick-pony-ness and lack of D is what makes it hard to build a lineup around him. You could make it work if your star was Giannis or Jimmy Butler or some other two-way creator. But, on a team where Luka and Kyrie are the stars…it just doesn’t work.
THJ is also an obviously talented offensive player. But, there are issues and they are mainly around his D and the limits to his game at his size.
1. Defense: He’s the worst defender on the team. Yeah, its cool he takes charges and all, but worst D-Rating and DBPM and if you dig through 82-games, he’s got the biggest On-Off defensive spread on the team (by a mile). He kills the defense of any lineup you run with him…period.
2. Lineup Construction: THJ’s injury was an aspect of the WCF playoff run. It wasn’t because he sucks…he doesn’t. It was because without another guard with limited creation ability, Dallas was able to keep two of their three creators on the court at all times without sacrificing size. Do spot-up and motion shooters have a place in the league? Yes, but they do create issues if they can’t defend and can’t create for themselves and others (outside of ‘creating’ a contested 3 with a defender in his face).
3. Consistency: This has come up today and they spent some time on this on the “Locked-On” podcast today as well. When Dallas shoots 37% or better as a team they are 18-4 (third best for teams when they shoot over 37%). When other teams in the top of the league in this stat shoot under 37% they all have winning records. But, Dallas is 7-17 when they shoot under 37%. The reason is those other good teams have something else to go to. Dallas doesn’t. On nights Tim shoots over 30% the team is 18-10. When Tim shoots under 30% they are 4-8. A bench guy shouldn’t have that kind of impact on the overall record. But if you have him you have to play him. It isn’t the inconsistency as much as it it the limits to his game. Many of the PF’s we seem to be targeting have other tricks in their bag besides what Tim has.
His one-trick-pony-ness and lack of D is what makes it hard to build a lineup around him. You could make it work if your star was Giannis or Jimmy Butler or some other two-way creator. But, on a team where Luka and Kyrie are the stars…it just doesn’t work.
![[-]](https://www.mavsboard.com/images/collapse.png)