He wasn’t good enough to get minutes for the team that beat the Lakers….so no.
BritzlBen
We played a power forward at center and he was a better defender than Thomas Bryant so no.
junahn
My take might be egregious but I do think he can help. He actually showed good defensive effort against jokic for regular season matchup last year and led us to win a game by blowing them out without AD. He is also capable of playing as a pick and pop center with efficient shooting percentage. Its not that it would totally change the outcome but considering how we were so helpless during pick and roll situation(dennis isnt that type of player, dlo sucked) to counter Denver’s defense, yes he could help us
jobeeeeeeem
No. He doesn’t play like a bully that can stop Jokic.
KingNephew
Unfortunately no, TB would give you 15-20 on a good night and give up 20-25.
CabbageStockExchange
No
josuelaker2
I like TB and always have.
But the “If TB hadn’t been traded” is a weird premise considering he asked to be traded.
If he hadn’t literally pushed himself out the door, he probably would’ve got minutes instead of buried on Denvers bench in the playoffs.
So, yeah, what if’s and whatnot.
No-Equipment-20
Thomas Bryant was a fun player, but he might be the worst defensive center I’ve ever seen
aCrazyCatDude
Rob did such a good job at the deadline, think you can’t knock the man’s moves. He did a great job.
wowsocoolbro1
No. His defense is horrendous.
guyfromthepicture
Nope. You can’t play that kind of guy very long. They get hunted in slower games and series.
SedanoSucks
No defense, no minutes
MrAppleSpoink
Yes and I will die on that hill.
Did he suck on D? Yeah (pause), but here’s the thing… HE COULD FUCKING REBOUND. We were disgustingly bad on the defensive glass in the playoffs and Bryant would’ve been HUGE for that.
DGVega93
Joker would’ve got his triple double a lot quicker
BearShark8
He would’ve fouled out in a minute against jokic.
greyk34
Probably the worst post defender at the center position in basketball vs the best, most overpowering post player in the league.. nah
Imaginary_Bicycle_14
No
lil_cleverguy
no
grabasneaker
No
It was a layup line when he was on the floor.
Yung_Aang
Clapping from the bench can only help so much…
fulaxriders
Yeah just as much as he helped Denver
Tkainzero
no
Tangentkoala
He would have gotten roasted by jokic anyways. Probably would have gotten played off court.
Who knows maybe he could have Bynumed AD.
MeiIsBaePrayForMe
Fuck no
MickeyMgl
No
flowermoon24
No, I think he will benched during the playoffs. He gonna get murdered out there, too slow and zero defense. Hes an easy target in the paint that even Slim Wenyen is better than him on guarding the paint
DerektheGhost
That’s world champion Thomas Bryant to all of us.
HeaterWylin
Preseason October 7th. Please get here
Gaetanop76
Jokic made him and Wenyen look like WNBA players earlier in the season. So no.
theseustheminotaur
Nah, his defense is bad on every play and his offense is only good on a small number of plays. It would arguably have been worse with him there taking minutes away.
naytttt
Any photographers out here really digging the bokeh in this photo? It’s so circular and interesting.
coolman1500
nope traffic cone on defense
chrisgarlick10-3
Lol he would have h gotten eaten alive
Similar_Reach_7288
Hear me out. We saw TT be somewhat effective in the limited minutes he was out there for the Nuggets series specifically, and he’s been out of the league for like 2 years. TT didn’t bleed points, he actually had a respectable +/- and he set killer screens. Imagine TB taking those minutes instead, maybe even starting next to AD instead of Rui to be Jokic’s primary defender. He held his own against him in that one regular season win, take that with a grain of salt but he was effective. You get his rebounding which was sorely missed as we gave up way too many ORebs and 2nd chance points; and you get someone Jokic needs to actively defend instead of camping in front of the rim all game.
Now for the negatives: worse spacing and he’s a poor defender. The spacing wasn’t really relevant as Denver was daring us to take 3’s and focused on shutting down AD in the paint. For whatever reason AD really struggled with Jokic playing the deep drop coverage, but put TB next to him and it puts a lot more pressure on Jokic as their primary rim protector. Denver couldn’t get away with playing their Aaron Gordon at C lineups as much since in don’t think he does well guarding true centers. And as poor of a defender he is, TB is much preferable to Lebron and Rui playing backup C. Plus he wouldn’t be tasked of replacing AD for significant stretches like he did when AD was injured, them playing side by side possibly makes up for a lot of their individual weaknesses.
In hindsight whether or not TB makes a meaningful difference, one thing you can be certain of is he’d be way more valuable than TT and Mo Bamba. Take it one step further, undo both trades and keep Pat Bev on top of that. Then we have someone who can decently slow down Murray and run back on D to prevent easy transition buckets, another area Denver was able to exploit. That and Pat Bev probably takes DLo’s minutes which could only be seen as a net positive for this series. So assuming all this to be true I think there’s a reasonable chance that it would have been enough to swing the series. It’s a lot of assumptions to make though, and rarely do things go according to plan.
Charming-Ad3825
Ain’t no one in the modern NBA stopping Jokic, D12 in his prime might be the only big that could stop him among recent bigs that played for the Lakers.
eezyy33zy
iirc, he wanted out because he didn’t like the role he had on the team.
mac10fan
I mean Miami picked him up so maybe they thought so. While he’s not amazing at defense he’s still 7 foot and that’s always gonna be valued.
SurgeFlamingo
No.
gratitudeisbs
I think his scoring and rebounding would have made Jokic work harder and may have been the difference in game 4. We were still gonna lose the series tho, cuz lebron wasn’t 100%
ClBdTV
lol guy is a bum but hey he’s a good teammate right?
WavyGod
He was the worst defensive big I’ve honestly ever seen. This man yelled at himself every time someone scored on him like what? You didn’t do anything to stop it smh
41 Comments
He wasn’t good enough to get minutes for the team that beat the Lakers….so no.
We played a power forward at center and he was a better defender than Thomas Bryant so no.
My take might be egregious but I do think he can help. He actually showed good defensive effort against jokic for regular season matchup last year and led us to win a game by blowing them out without AD. He is also capable of playing as a pick and pop center with efficient shooting percentage. Its not that it would totally change the outcome but considering how we were so helpless during pick and roll situation(dennis isnt that type of player, dlo sucked) to counter Denver’s defense, yes he could help us
No. He doesn’t play like a bully that can stop Jokic.
Unfortunately no, TB would give you 15-20 on a good night and give up 20-25.
No
I like TB and always have.
But the “If TB hadn’t been traded” is a weird premise considering he asked to be traded.
If he hadn’t literally pushed himself out the door, he probably would’ve got minutes instead of buried on Denvers bench in the playoffs.
So, yeah, what if’s and whatnot.
Thomas Bryant was a fun player, but he might be the worst defensive center I’ve ever seen
Rob did such a good job at the deadline, think you can’t knock the man’s moves. He did a great job.
No. His defense is horrendous.
Nope. You can’t play that kind of guy very long. They get hunted in slower games and series.
No defense, no minutes
Yes and I will die on that hill.
Did he suck on D? Yeah (pause), but here’s the thing… HE COULD FUCKING REBOUND. We were disgustingly bad on the defensive glass in the playoffs and Bryant would’ve been HUGE for that.
Joker would’ve got his triple double a lot quicker
He would’ve fouled out in a minute against jokic.
Probably the worst post defender at the center position in basketball vs the best, most overpowering post player in the league.. nah
No
no
No
It was a layup line when he was on the floor.
Clapping from the bench can only help so much…
Yeah just as much as he helped Denver
no
He would have gotten roasted by jokic anyways. Probably would have gotten played off court.
Who knows maybe he could have Bynumed AD.
Fuck no
No
No, I think he will benched during the playoffs. He gonna get murdered out there, too slow and zero defense. Hes an easy target in the paint that even Slim Wenyen is better than him on guarding the paint
That’s world champion Thomas Bryant to all of us.
Preseason October 7th. Please get here
Jokic made him and Wenyen look like WNBA players earlier in the season. So no.
Nah, his defense is bad on every play and his offense is only good on a small number of plays. It would arguably have been worse with him there taking minutes away.
Any photographers out here really digging the bokeh in this photo? It’s so circular and interesting.
nope traffic cone on defense
Lol he would have h gotten eaten alive
Hear me out. We saw TT be somewhat effective in the limited minutes he was out there for the Nuggets series specifically, and he’s been out of the league for like 2 years. TT didn’t bleed points, he actually had a respectable +/- and he set killer screens. Imagine TB taking those minutes instead, maybe even starting next to AD instead of Rui to be Jokic’s primary defender. He held his own against him in that one regular season win, take that with a grain of salt but he was effective. You get his rebounding which was sorely missed as we gave up way too many ORebs and 2nd chance points; and you get someone Jokic needs to actively defend instead of camping in front of the rim all game.
Now for the negatives: worse spacing and he’s a poor defender. The spacing wasn’t really relevant as Denver was daring us to take 3’s and focused on shutting down AD in the paint. For whatever reason AD really struggled with Jokic playing the deep drop coverage, but put TB next to him and it puts a lot more pressure on Jokic as their primary rim protector. Denver couldn’t get away with playing their Aaron Gordon at C lineups as much since in don’t think he does well guarding true centers. And as poor of a defender he is, TB is much preferable to Lebron and Rui playing backup C. Plus he wouldn’t be tasked of replacing AD for significant stretches like he did when AD was injured, them playing side by side possibly makes up for a lot of their individual weaknesses.
In hindsight whether or not TB makes a meaningful difference, one thing you can be certain of is he’d be way more valuable than TT and Mo Bamba. Take it one step further, undo both trades and keep Pat Bev on top of that. Then we have someone who can decently slow down Murray and run back on D to prevent easy transition buckets, another area Denver was able to exploit. That and Pat Bev probably takes DLo’s minutes which could only be seen as a net positive for this series. So assuming all this to be true I think there’s a reasonable chance that it would have been enough to swing the series. It’s a lot of assumptions to make though, and rarely do things go according to plan.
Ain’t no one in the modern NBA stopping Jokic, D12 in his prime might be the only big that could stop him among recent bigs that played for the Lakers.
iirc, he wanted out because he didn’t like the role he had on the team.
I mean Miami picked him up so maybe they thought so. While he’s not amazing at defense he’s still 7 foot and that’s always gonna be valued.
No.
I think his scoring and rebounding would have made Jokic work harder and may have been the difference in game 4. We were still gonna lose the series tho, cuz lebron wasn’t 100%
lol guy is a bum but hey he’s a good teammate right?
He was the worst defensive big I’ve honestly ever seen. This man yelled at himself every time someone scored on him like what? You didn’t do anything to stop it smh