reflections
November 30th, 2006 Kurt Thomas: The Unsung Hero of the Phoenix Suns

“Dirty” has quickly become one of my favorite players that I have ever seen play for the Suns. Sure, his numbers are nothing to brag about, his minutes have gone down and he is on the decline, but his importance to the Suns has really been overlooked. Last year, without him, the Suns defense went from only allowing opponents to shoot 44% to letting them shoot at 49% and score seven points more per game. The team also went from being on pace to reach 60 wins to just playing little better than .500 ball with easily the worst defense in the league in the time that Kurt Thomas missed.

The trade talks during the off-season infuriated me because I knew he would be an important part of this team this season, especially during the playoffs. He has really showed his value so far. Even in reduced minutes he is contributing. His FG% is in the 60’s. He makes smart shots and has one of the most consistent mid-range jumpers I have seen. Also, unlike most big men he doesn’t make too many mistakes with the ball (only averages 0.7 turnovers in 23 minutes). His defense and rebounding has been very good. He’s not as tall as some centers and can not jump as high as some other big men but he gets great position for rebounds. He boxes out and fights for boards which is how he got 11 against a Rockets team with Yao Ming at center. He is also not very fast but if you look at how he defends Yao, Duncan or Shaq, he plays smart, always stays in front of them and contests every single shot. You could see how Yao struggled to score on him even with a nine inch height difference.

The biggest reason why he is such a key part of this team is because of what he is doing with Amare. It was Stoudemire who asked for him to come here and they have been a good duo in the front court. The Suns’ rebounding troubles are gone when those two are on the floor. Thomas has also become a pretty good teacher for Amare. He is a big part of why Amare’s rebounding and defense has improved so much since the 2004-’05 season. Amare had so much athleticism and is a big guy and yet was only averaging nine rebounds a game and his defense was embarrassing. But now you see a much smarter Amare out there and I give credit to Thomas for that.

I hate to see Thomas’ contributions ignored by everybody. He brings the once soft Suns some toughness. They used to be pushed around by everyone down low but not anymore. Thomas’ glare is enough to make any man run and hide.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »