Guest post: Why not Etan?
Not very many actually saw Etan Thomas being a real impact player when Sam Presti traded for him this summer. He was just going to be trade bait at the deadline with that expiring deal. But one reader has liked what he’s seen from Thomas so much, that he feels like he’s earned a spot in the first five.
(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
By Casey Womack
Special to Daily Thunder
After wanting to punch the wall after the game last night, I started to do some thinking. The Thunder just came three points from beating the world champions. They played the best defense I’ve seen them play since they’ve been here. They out rebounded the Lakers on the offensive side. They blocked shots when they needed them. They even drew fouls down in the paint.
And it was all thanks to a man that uses a wrist band to tie his hair.
After thinking of everything, I thought to myself, why not start Etan Thomas? He brings a mean, physical attribute that Nenad Krstic doesn’t have in his bag. Thomas throws elbows every single time he comes down (even if there’s not a single person within 10 feet) from a rebound then gets in your face and lets you know about it. He gets the tough rebounds and outworks his opponents for a bucket. He’ll get in the other team’s head right from tip-off and will do everything in his power to make he sure he stays there.
Although, I know Nenad Krstic’s jumper really helps out the offense when he’s on. But that’s the problem. When he’s not, he’s just kind of an extra body that’s running up and down the court. He doesn’t have close to the same defensive talent Thomas has. Do you really think the Lakers would have had a 9-0 lead two minutes into the game with Thomas in? Krstic hit nothing but air on half of his shots in the first half. He didn’t make his first jumper until the start of the second half then got hot.
My idea is this: Have the same starting lineup, with Thomas in instead of Krstic and establish a defensive presence early on in the game. I would bring in Krstic in the middle of the first quarter and let him throw up a few jumpers. If he’s hot, leave him in. If not, live to fight another day. He’ll have his nights when he wins us games. But he’ll also have his nights when he cannot hit a thing and really ruin the team’s chances.
Thomas’s best year statistically was 2003-04 with Washington, when he averaged 24 minutes, nine ppg, seven rebounds, and one block for the season. He had 12 double-doubles that year. The past two games, he’s averaging 25.5 minutes, 10 rebounds, 6.5 ppg, and 2.5 blocks off the bench replacing Krstic. Krstic’s best year was in 2006-07 with the Nets. He averaged 32 minutes, 16 ppg, 6.8 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks for the season. This year, he’s averaging only 23 minutes, 10 ppg, 4 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks.
Krstic had his best game this season against the worst team in the league. There was little pressure in the paint, and he had extremely easy buckets. Thomas clearly had his best game last night against arguably the best team in the league. Even with pressure, he stayed aggressive and helped make sure the Lakers earned everything they did. Nobody is saying Krstic shouldn’t play, it’s just with this new, defensive minded group out there, maybe Thomas suits the team better.
Nice article, and well thought out. I agree quite a bit with the theory. My biggest problem with it though is something you haven’t mentioned: his health. Etan has never once played 82 games in a season. The most he ever played was 79. In fact he’s only played more than 70 games twice in his career. He played 65 games once. The other 4 seasons not mentioned he played considerably less.
If a player played just half a game (24 minutes) for a full season he would have just shy of 2000 minutes played for that season. Etan has only reached 1900 minutes once. Once. He’s never even been close to that at any other time.
So while in theory I agree that he is deserving of a large role based on his attributes so far, it is really quite likely that he won’t hold up. And it’s a real hassle for a player like Krstic to lose his starting job, and then get thrown back in later when the guy he was replaced for. It can work, but it messes with the cohesion of the team to be flipping starters. Players like to know their roles.
A friend and I were saying the same thing this morning. I would like to see him start, but not increase his minutes. The last three games the Thunder have been outscored in the 1st quarter by 8, 10, and 7. I think his defense would help keep the team from having to dig out of a hole every night.
i thought he was using a headband to tie his hair back… but i agree with you 100%. when kristic is off, he’s way the hell off. part of the reason he had such a good first two games is because detroit and sacto let him take those shots, portland and l.a. are much better defensive teams and wouldn’t let him have as many easy looks.
Well put, Joe.
It was great to watch Thomas last night! The attitude that he brought to paint had much to do with how close the Thunder were able to play the champs last night. And every time he threw his elbows around, I was even getting fired up by his energy (and I imagine the same is true for his teammates and the fans at the Ford Center).
It’s fun to watch, and considering that he’s a Tulsa-guy, I bet that he quickly becomes a fan-favorite.
But I don’t see any problem in utilizing his attitude from bench (even if its only for the precautionary health problems that Joe mentioned).
Plus, even when Nenad isn’t hitting, his presence is still valuable because opponents have to respect his shot, and the lane is opened up for easier baskets. Either way, I feel that the two compliment each other well, and it will be interesting to see how Brooks begins to divide their minutes.
This certainly isn’t a knock on Thomas, but the only reason I would make Etan the starter would be if we felt Krstic could add some scoring punch to the second unit. I don’t really see that a likely, nor am I confident that would work. One thing we saw in the first two games was the chemistry Nenad and Russ have (at least if they’re clicking). I don’t think it’s simply coincidence that Krstic had his best nights when Russ was dishing the ball to him.
I’d say that before we all jump on the Thomas bandwagon (I’ve got one foot in already) we had probably better see how he plays against Dwight Howard.
The last time I saw Dwight Howard play in the Ford Center, he dropped a massive triple double on BLOCKS and rebounds. Let’s see how Thomas does in that game before we crown him our starting center.
I say let him start. Then when his health fails RELEASE IBAKA!!!
Just playing. Seriously, Joe has a good point. I would rotate when appropriate for their assignments.
Were all missing Etan’s most vital ability. He is our backup mascot. If Rumble blow out a knee Etan could step in. They look exactly alike….(waiting for you to consider and agree)….Seriously though, I think that we need to keep Nenad starting and try to pick up the offensive pace. With this young of a team, there is no reason we cant score 100
Etan Thomas’ skill set probably fits in better with the starting lineup but I’d be hesitant to trust him with big minutes due to his injury history.
I am in the same boat too. He is slowly becoming the dominant big man we all have being crying for. He has been injury-prone the last few years and supposedly had a few surgeries to overcome them. If this is the case, he should have a few years still on the engine and could be vital until By-wrong Mullens gets it together(watching the Dallas game, man he was wayyyy better than Rodrique Beaubois. I wonder if Swift left any black nail polish by the bench?). Krystic lacks defensive presence and really only brings the jump shot. Maybe letting him come off the bench and just bring the mid-range shot would relieve some pressure and they will start to fall. I think Etan has earned a starting spot, but I trust Brooks and whatever decision he makes, it’s well thought out.
Like I said last night
“I think that Thomas should start and Krstic should come in as the shooting center. If Thomas starts then we would probably not have the 9-0 hole to dig out of at the start.”
If you start Thomas for say the first seven minutes, you can establish the tone of the game being “Not in my house” and then let Krstic douse you with fireballs till your house burns down (of course when he is not shooting air).
Then perhaps you can start off with an advantage.
T.
I don’t know whether he should start or not, but he’s definately one of the most positive surprises this season. It turns out to be another masterful move of Presti.
Can Ollie drive?? To me if he can drive or even Harden and get the pick and pop going with Krystic with the second unit. Either way we need to start getting KD and JG some rest here and there.
and I loved watching Etan with the Wizards when he was healthy..I was more excited about him then Harden, but I would have never expected him to come out like he did w/ the Lakers.
Let’s give Brooks some patience–he’s just now starting to figure out the capabilities of these players in real game situations. Presti has given him a great degree of versatility with the players he’s acquired/drafted, and he’s figuring out how to use it.
That said, Etan has played well enough to warrant some more playing time. He and Krstic on the floor together would be an interesting combination, especially against lesser teams. I would actually like to see a lineup of:
Westbrook-Harden-Green-Krstic-Thomas
I think that would be an interesting lineup when KD is on the bench getting rested (which should be more often, in my opinion).
Someone remind me again who it was that we gave up for Etan? Just because I like seeing it in print.
chuky and wilk Man those guys gave us NOTHING last year!
I said some days ago that Thomas should start. If everyone is worried about his health, what’s to stop him from getting hurt in the second unit….(don’t worry i’ll wait)? Exactly, he’s giving us a chance to slow these better low post players down. The point was made some post earlier that when Krstic is off it hurts the team as a whole, when all he does really is shoot.
When Krstic is 17 feet away from the basket and missing jumpers who’s there to rebound…..(don’t worry i’ll wait)? The defensive presence is good if not great when he’s in and it seems to me that he and Green are good together; with the way Green’s been playing also.
I’d like to see Krstic come off the bench and open the lane for Harden to become a playmaker and slasher, so as to make him comfortable in his prior role at ASU. Harden could definitely run the pick and pop with Krstic. Coach Brooks needs to tell Ollie not to shoot so often and dribble 15 seconds of the shot clock before he makes a descision on who or if he’s gonna pass the ball.
Ollie had his share of bonehead jumpers too, but everybody’s downing KD or others when I personally screamed to the top of my lungs for Ollie to quit shooting jumpers to no avail. I mean come on, you know you can’t shoot when Russel’s shoot at a better clip than you and you’ve been in the league for 12 or 13 seasons.
When Krstic is 17 feet away from the basket and missing jumpers who’s there to rebound…..(don’t worry i’ll wait)? The defensive presence is good if not great when he’s in and it seems to me that he and Green are good together; with the way Green’s been playing also.
Meaning Thomas….
I’d like to see Etan start when we are facing good offensive big men just to set the tone of the game as a defensive battle. Obviously, this Sunday would be a good time try it out.
I’m all for it. Start Etan, keep Krstic’s minutes at around where they were before. If health issues develop with Thomas, move Krstic back into the starting line-up and see what Ibaka’s got in the tank. I am still hopeful that we are able to add an even better center to the roster before between December and February, but failing that, I prefer getting the players accustomed to that sort of rotation. The alternative is to keep Krstic on a short leash each game and just throwing Etan in early when we fall behind. Thats what it looked like happened in the Lakers game, and I strongly suspect (hell, he has said as much somewhere) that Brooks prefers more stable rotations where the players have a good idea what to expect in terms of minutes played and when they will be going in.
I believe someone suggested Green/Thomas and Collison/Krstic pairings so that you would have at least one physical, inside presence guy on the floor at all times. Doesn’t seem like a bad idea to me, and since Green also fills in at the 3, I can’t see him coming off the bench at the 4, so that would put Thomas at the starting 5.
A little off topic….
I just want to say how much more fun things are this year. Unlike last year (which was my first as an NBA fan), I can get more into the match ups and nuances.
That said… back on topic…
I can’t wait to see how Thomas, Kirstic, Collison and Green play against the Magic’s front court of Howard, Gortat, Anderson and Bass. That game will give us a lot better sense for Thomas’ and Kirstic’s relative talents. If Thomas can hold Howard below his average and prevent him from dominating the paint, by vote goes to him FOR SURE. But it may REQUIRE Kirstic to get Howard away from the rim to keep him from pulling another triple-double on blocks against the Thunder.