Be Aggressive... It's always fun to take a look at the stats when a player is on a hot streak. After the jump we'll break down Thad's play from the past five games.  The heat chart above (from NBA.com) may surprise you a little bit. It's a graphical look at Thad's shooting over the past five games, and while he has been hot with his jumper from certain spots, it's mainly been his drives to the hoop that have fueled his hot streak. (For some reason, the game vs. the Bulls isn't included in the previous 5 games, but you get the picture). I'll break the numbers down for you a little bit (from the graphic):
If you haven't noticed, the Sixers haven't exactly struggled in the half-court recently. There's a simple reason. Thad is their most-effective weapon against a set defense. If Thad can keep this up, the Sixers will be tough to beat. More importantly, if this is a glimpse at the offensive player Thad is going to evolve into, the sky's the limit. One more, "while you were sleeping" stat. Check out Andre Iguodala's heat chart over the past 10 games:  That's right, over the past 10 games, Iguodala has shot 13/30 from three, that's good for 43.3% folks. (OK, so their math is off again, he's actually shot 12/33 over the past 10 games, but still, that's 36.6% which is above average. And isn't it more fun to look at all that red on the screen than, you know, accurate stats). The Sixers start their roadie at the Lakers tonight at 10:30pm. You know I'll be here (that's prime time for me), hope to see you guys for the in-game discussion. In the mean time, leave your Thad related thoughts in the comments. What's his ceiling? What does he need to do to get there? 7 Comments | Leave a commentLeave a commentLatest Posts• Change The Script • Be Aggressive... • Maybe That OKC Loss Wasn't So Embarrassi • The Race Is On • Marshall Law • Make A Statement • What Do They Need From Thad? • Expand The Coaching Staff • First-Person Report: Sixers vs. Bulls • A Proper Ending • Sixers Fans NCAA Group • Close It In StyleSearchBlogs in The NetworkSixers BlogsPassion and Pride Sixers 4 Guidos Liberty Ballers Recliner GM PhillyArena Heard In The Cheap Seats | ||||||||||||||||
I think it is a big help for Thad when he is heavily involved in the offense (they give him a lot of shots). If you remember, his down spiral this season started when about 1.5 months into it they switched Iggy to the 3 and started emphasizing Iggy being the main offensive weapon. His efficiency really plummeted then and it is only now starting to approach average.
I'm starting to think he should be the #1 option as he can score in the most ways (drive, shoot, low post game, etc.) though he could still use some work on his ball handling. I still think he needs to work on getting to the line more often. Look at how often Durant (granted he'll take 25 shots a game) and Kevin Martin go to the line and those guys are toothpicks (i.e. - not strong) who are just average in terms of NBA athleticism.
I'd love to see him go to the line more, and I think he will in time. Durant gets calls because he's perceived as a superstar, earned or not. Martin actually shocked me a little bit, he's going 9+ times/game, which is amazing.
The same things that have been said over and over again:
1) I kind of expect Thad to finish better around the basket.
2) Rebounding
3) Defense (although I think it's a bit unfair on him that he's playing at the 4 at the moment)
4) Getting to the line and shooting better from the stripe
I actually think Thad's done a very good job on defense, especially considering he's playing out of position. This experience at the 4 may serve him well if/when he moves back to the three. He won't get pushed around by anyone.
Early on this year (when they were struggling integrating Brand into the offense) it became clear that this team needs to run the offense through the natural gifted scorers like Thad and Speights. Iguodala and Brand are better and more experienced players, but they are not natural scorers. They score more through great effort than smooth, natural scoring moves.
The problem is you can't run your offense through players under 22 and expect to fight for a top 4 seed. In fact most coaches just flat out refuse to deal with the ups and downs of trying to make such young guys the focal points of an offense ('no plays run for Thad BS.')
So in the long run we should be glad to have Thad and Speights who each have unbelievable offensive upside to be both prolific and efficient scorers. They might give you a combined 40+ pts on 50% shooting in 3 years (if Speights' head stays screwed on right.) Add a gifted complimentary creator like Iguodala and plug in a PG who can shoot (from the draft) and this team still has a ton of promise in 3 years.
Where that leaves the Brand signing (who will be a solid 33 year old making 17M to be a vet big) is a bigger question (forget about a 36 year old Miller.) Ed made what seemed to be the right move at the time in signing Brand, but it was a miscalculation given how many years this team is away from being ready to contend. They need Thad and Speights to carry the scoring load, and that is not happening full time for at least another 2 years.
cosigned.
don't get me wrong, the Brand signing seemed the right move at the time (mostly because a younger low post PF was not available.)
Who knew that Speights had starters potential? Hopefully he can start next to Brand at some point (per 82games they are an amazingly productive combo in limited minutes together.) They should have a really strong and deep frontcourt next year.
I just thinjk this team does not really click offensively until the offense goes through Thad and Speights. Maybe that will happen as soon as next year (Thad looks close to breaking out.) But more likely we are still a couple of years away.
Sure hope they can find a PG who can shoot. I guess with DiLeo's track record in the mid 1st round we have reason to hope.