Interesting Read on THJ's Resurgent 2016

Submitted by All Day on

It's a long read, but tons of great material on Hardaway's early struggles in NY and the D-league and how he fits so well in Atlanta. A couple of interesting notes: opposing players are averaging 10% below their season average when guarded by THJ; and Melo once threatened to beat him up after THJ yelled at him about not going after a rebound (not surprising).

 

LINK

Mr. Yost

April 7th, 2016 at 11:26 PM ^

KCP is better, no argument...but I went back and looked at who I would've drafted if I was the Pistons, turns out my team would only probably be a little better.

2010

Drafted: Greg Monroe

IWHD: Greg Monroe

Hindsight: Paul George

2011

Drafted: Brandon Knight

IWHD: Kemba Walker

Hindsight: Klay Thompson (can't take Kawhi a year after George)

2012

Drafted: Andre Drummond

IWHD: Andre Drummond

Hindsight: Andre Drummond

2013

Drafted: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

IWHD: Shabazz Muhammed

Hindsight: Worst draft of all-time? Hindsight says trade the pick for multiple 2014 picks

2014

Drafted: Fuck Joe Dumars - use your amnesty

IWHD: Fuck Joe Dumars - use your amnesty

Hindsight: Fuck Joe Dumars - use your amnesty

2015

Drafted: Stanley Johnson

IWHD: Devin Booker

Hindsight: Too soon to tell

My "I would have drafted" gets you Kemba Walker, but that's really it. I think Devin Booker is going to be a nice player, but I can't say Johnson isn't. But I can't say my laptop GM skills makes the Pistons a contender in the East, they really haven't had an oppostunity to do too much more than they've done - unless you hit on one of those stars in the early 2010's.

Dumars should've been fired on the spot for the Gordon/Villanueva bullshit.

Mr. Yost

April 8th, 2016 at 6:18 PM ^

Only child, mom can't say shit because she's always leached onto him.

I have a theory that LeBron would be the greatest player ever if he would've only grown up with a solid older brother.

He seeks out brothers every chance he gets and he has never been put in his place like an older brother would do. He behaves like someone who's never been "checked" in his life.

If he doesn't win this year, I don't think he ever wins another championship.

turd ferguson

April 7th, 2016 at 4:32 PM ^

It's damn cool that Hardaway got after Melo for that.  There can't be many unestablished, early career NBA players with that kind of courage.

And it's nice to see Melo's teams continue to tear up the NBA.  A true (and selfless) superstar, that guy.

Human Torpedo

April 7th, 2016 at 4:36 PM ^

THJ would be our best pro of the starting five from title game. Saw dominate in that Summer League in his second year in the NBA a year and a half ago. He might not ever become an All-Star caliber player, but his bust probability has taken a huge hit in a good way this year

Lanknows

April 7th, 2016 at 5:53 PM ^

I thought GR3 might be the best of the group once he rounded out his game, but I'd give the edge to THJ now.

Caris should be better than them all though. I expect him to be the best Michigan alum in the NBA since Crawford.

carlos spicywiener

April 7th, 2016 at 4:44 PM ^

Good to see this. There was a time when he was literally the worst defensive player in the league by advanced stats. It's good to see he can be a 3 & D rotational wing in the league. Atlanta doesn't have a lot of top shelf talent, but they consistently win.

OwenGoBlue

April 8th, 2016 at 5:00 AM ^

I'm sorry, but what is resurgent about having your minutes cut in half and seeing a decline in PER despite being surrounded by significantly better talent (e.g. having a real point guard rather than the ghost of Jose Calderon)?

I like THJ a lot and hope he does become an average or better NBA player, but this piece is too-soon fluff that misrepresents his play this season. 

Ali G Bomaye

April 8th, 2016 at 8:51 AM ^

You're also misrepresenting his play this season.

His average minutes are down from 24 mpg to 17 mpg, but the article specifically mentions that that's partly due to him having a wrist injury this past summer and getting off to a slow start. Since the All-Star break, he's been one of Atlanta's top backups, shooting 46% overall and 38% from three for a TS% of 60.5% (which is comparable to, say, Klay Thompson). And the article specifically mentions how his defense has improved.

So yeah, you're right that he got off to a terrible start this season, but that isn't what the article is about.