Counting down 14 Christmas wishes for the Cleveland Cavaliers

6. Tristan Thompson keeps it up

Tristan Thompson may be the most surprisingly good player of the season so far. After being made fun of for his offseason comments in which he stated that the Cavaliers were “still the team to beat,” Thompson has at least backed up his statement with his individual play.

TT is averaging 11.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. His 124 total offensive rebounds make him the NBA’s second-best offensive rebounder, with only Andre Drummond (130) ahead of him.

Thompson’s ability to keep the play alive by grabbing the offensive rebound has been huge for the Cavaliers all season long. In fact, he is likely the sole reason they rank top-10 in second chance points with 14.5 per game.

The most impressive aspect of TT’s game has been his improved offense. He is nearly averaging a career high in points and is shooting 53.5 percent from the floor. He has developed a soft touch around the rim and is able to knock down mid-range shots, shooting 50.0 percent from 10-14 feet.

For the rest of the season, we can only hope that Thompson continues to play the way he is playing. He is the clear leader of this team right now and he brings energy to every game. He often has the biggest impact on each game and keeps the team alive in close games. The best-case scenario would be TT keeping this up.