Tristan Thompson had a great playoff run with the Cavaliers as LeBron James took them to the Finals without the likes of Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. Thompson averaged 9.6 points, 10.8 rebounds per game, and shot 55 percent from the field during the Cavs' run to the Finals. All of those were career highs. Let's take a look at his strengths and weaknesses and come up with a verdict.
Strengths: Thompson's biggest strength is his energy and rebounding. His rebounding stats can be a little deceiving, however. Thompson finished 26th in rebounds per game with 8.0. But he played significantly less minutes than leaders like Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan. If Thompson had played more minutes, surely that total would have gone up. But the stats show that Thompson is one of the best offensive rebounders in the game. His length and hustle has given the Cavs countless second chance points and his length really showed up against the Bulls, the series after Kevin Love was injured. Thompson gives the Cavs size and is their best rebounder at the moment. Given that Kevin Love has been more inclined to play outside, Thompson is arguably the best big man on the Cavs.
Weaknesses: While his defensive game, specifically rebounding, is solid. His offensive game leaves more to be desired. Although Thompson shot 55 percent from the field, he still struggles to find his own shot. Most of his shots come off of second chances. Thompson is not expected to be a prolific offensive scorer, but his lack of offensive game sometimes leaves the Cavs playing 4 on 5 on offense. Thompson needs to start picking up the offensive part of the game to become even more of a contributor to the Cavs.
Verdict: Although the Cavs benefit heavily from Thompson's offensive rebounding, his lack of offensive game leaves some doubt to whether he deserves a max. Although the Cavs have numerous scorers on the team and that is Thompson's role, you never know when he's going to need his offensive game. For now, the Cavs should not offer Thompson the max.