Can Toumani Camara Make the Leap to Defensive Player of the Year Level? Trail Blazers Season Preview

Can Toumani Camara Make the Leap to Defensive Player of the Year Level? Trail Blazers Season Preview

In today’s show, it’s our season preview for Tumani Kamara. After a standout second season in Portland, can two raise his game on offense and join the ranks of the elite fraternity of NBA defenders? Welcome to Lockdown Blazers. Let’s get into it. You are Locked on Trailblazers, your daily Portland Trailblazers podcast, part of the Locked On Network. your team every day. What’s up world? It’s your past first point guard and trailblazers reporter Mike Richmond. You’re listening to another episode of Locked on Blazers, part of the Locked On podcast network, available wherever you get podcast and also on YouTube. Thanks for making this show your first listen. Coming at you each and every weekday, Monday through Friday. So make it a part of your daily routine. Make it your first listen. Tell your friends to do the same. It’s locked on Blazers, your team every day. In today’s show, we are continuing our season preview series. Today we are talking all things Tomani Kamar. If you’ve missed any of these, uh, if you’re a YouTube viewer, there’s a playlist that is titled season previews, labeled season previews. If you are a um, uh, if you are an audio listener, just search season previews. They’re all they’re all titled as such in your audio player. Here’s how these season previews work. First, we’ll look back to look forward. We’ll talk about what Tumani did during the 24-25 season. We’ll talk best and worst case scenarios in the second segment. and we’ll close the show talking role and expectations. So, what did two do last year? He was really stinking good. He played he appeared in 78 games averaging 11.3 points, 5.8 boards, and 2.2 assists. Shot 45.8% from the floor, which included 37 1.5% from three and 72% from the free throw line. Started every game he appeared in. uh played 32.7 minutes a night and he improved across the board. All of his box score numbers were better. Uh the efficiency uh climbed along with a small usage, but careerhind points, careerhind rebounds, careerhind and and uh and assists. You you he shoots better. He upped his three-point attempts from two and a half his rookie season to 4.6 in his sophomore campaign. and the three-point percentage jumps along with it from uh slightly under 34% as a rookie to 37 and a half% as a sophomore in the NBA above league average that included a standout night in uh in January had 24 points a careerhigh in including hitting five of five from three in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. the offense took a step forward. But what made Tumani season special in his second year was he went from like, “Oh yeah, this dude is a pretty good defensive player and an interesting defensive player and a lot, you know, like uh certainly his rookie season was like, yeah, this guy’s got some stuff and he’s going to improve and he’s and he’s he’s impressive, but by you know, the middle of his second season, the middle of the, you know, the winter of 2025 into the spring, it’s like, oh yeah, this is one of the best defenders in the league.” You know, I was saying on the show that at that point at he had basically done enough that I would be surprised if he didn’t make the alldefense team. Maybe not like outright angry, but I’d be surprised because I thought based on the criteria, Tumani had been one of the best 10 defensive players in the NBA last season. Obviously, the criteria includes availability and Tumani playing 78 games allowed him to be available in a way that and the number of minutes he played allowed him to be available in ways that others weren’t. Alex Cruso, Chris Dunn, etc., etc. A lot of that defense, or much of it, I should say a lot is maybe a little insulting. Much of that defense is because Tummani was an elite foul drawer. Like elite, like uh had one of the all-time great offensive foul drawing seasons the league has ever seen. Um he drew 31 charges. More than 21 teams had total drawn charges. He on his own drew more charges than a third of the NBA. 21 teams had fewer charges drawn than Tumani. He’s just he was as good as they get at drawing charges. He mastered the dark arts and he guarded the stars. Um you know Tyresese Hallebertton, Shay Gildis Alexander, Steph Curry, LeBron James, Damen Lillard, Nicola Yokic, you name it. Tummani got the primary assignment. Two two games really stand out to me. There was a January game which the Pacers came to town um and Tyrese Hallebertton went scoreless and took just three shots. Now Hallebertton can have these nights where he’s just not as aggressive as you want him to be. I think that was something that we saw even throughout their incredible playoff run. But but tomani just completely take him out of the game particularly as as the Pacers season extended into the into the finals and it was like oh yeah this is one of the best offensive teams and this is the offensive engine of one of the best offensive teams we’ve seen. like they just they just play um they just play a way that is that Hallebertton is so integral in making them special and to have and looking back now it’s like and Tummani held that dude to three shots and scoreless as his primary defender. Um he was he was awesome in that game. Then there was a the sort of my favorite Tummani couplet of games both games of Blazers lost was right before the All-Star break. Um they played Denver back to in in consecutive days or consecutive games three twice in in three days um against uh they played against the Nuggets in Denver. So the first game Nikolic goes bonkers right 417 and eight in 30 minutes and it’s like wow that was the best player in the world but Tumani was guarding Jamal Murray in that game and and Murray had 17. So they said okay we’re going to get uh DeAndre got hurt in in that first game. Okay, how are we going to handle Joic in game two? Uh, well, they decided to put Tumani on him. They decided like, okay, you’re going to you’re going to guard Joic and that will allow um, you know, that that will kind of take away the head of the snake and then and we’ll they’ll figure it out from there. And Jamal Murray had 55. I mean, Jamal took an outrageous 36 shot attempts, but basically the Nuggets said, “Whoever Tani’s not guarding is going to murder you dead.” And that’s and they got him. They they they they really did in both those games, but like a a beautiful couplet of like um hey, you’re our problem solver. Go solve a problem. And Tummani does and then another problem pops up. Uh I I think on the year that um Tummani did like in in places that maybe he didn’t take as big a step forward. Um because he was really special. We’ll get to that in a moment. Uh but he moved from an outrageously good offensive rebounder his from his rookie season to merely a good one, an above really good one. Um he crashed less. Uh, I think he just he kind of dialed that back a little bit and he remained a below average rim finisher despite all of his uh, steps forward. You know, a dude average 11 points per game. His specialness, the thing that made him special was that he is an awesome defender and he was rewarded for his awesome defensive season. At the end of the year, Jammani became just the ninth Trailblazer in franchise history to earn a alldefense selection. Uh, and and the 15th season in franchise history. So, uh, some some players have done it multiple times. The first Blazer to make an alldefense team since the 0304 season when Theo Ratliff made it. Um, you know, the the the the world of all defense has changed, right? As I mentioned, there is uh eligibility stuff that I I I’m not sure that I agree with the eligibility for all defense, but the the rules are the rules, right? Um and Tumani um while maybe if some other players have been available would have been a more of a fringey guy was rewarded and they can’t take that away from you. I think it’s important to get that recognition because people start to respect you. Around the league throughout the year, assistant or head visiting head coaches when asked about Tammani Kamar would rave about him. Uh JJ Reic was was was had, you know, affusive praise for him. I think Mike Budnles are the same. Like it’s folks that watch film knew how good Tumman was and that what he did was better than the box score because truly he wasn’t this elite steel guy, elite block guy, but he was a very very very good defensive player and was recognized as such. The question isn’t whether Tummani is like good. I think we’ve have enough of his growth in from his rookie season when he kind of figured it out in the second half of the year to a a very very solid sophomore season. Um, we kind of know that he’s like solid, dependable, kind of kind of has a game that travels. The question is, is there more that that can you can get out of him? Is there is there more that’s coming? So, in the second segment, let’s talk about that. We’ll do best and worst case scenarios for Tumani Kamar looking ahead to his third season in the NBA. Join me there, won’t you? First though, let’s talk monarch money. You know that some folks don’t even know how much money they’ve got in their financial accounts or what they’re worth, what any of them are worth. So whether it’s 401ks, properties, or investments, when you don’t have the full picture, you can end up leaving money on the table. That’s why there’s Monarch Money. It’s an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings you, excuse me, brings your entire financial life together in one clean, easy to use interface on your laptop or on your phone. Monarch is built for people with busy lives. Um, so if you’ve put off organizing your finances, Monarch is for you. Monarch does the heavy lifting for you. You can link all of your accounts in minutes. You can see clear data visuals, get smart categorization on your spending, and finally feel in control of your money without ever touching a spreadsheet. So, if you want to figure out why you aren’t saving as much money as you as you thought you might, Monarch can help you notice inefficient investment allocation or, you know, discover forgotten 401ks from past jobs or if you share your finances with anyone and it can help you and those people in your life get on the same page. Don’t let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use the code locked on MBA at monarchmoney.com uh for half off your first year. That’s 50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com. Today’s show is also brought to you by the good folks over at Doer. And that’s good news because I’ve been meaning to tell you about how much I love their stinking jeans. I’ve been living in their relaxed taper fit. Uh my Doer jeans are comfortable. So, I can do them. I can, you know, whatever I need to do. If I’m if I’m at work, I can wear their comfortable jeans and look presentable at work. If I’m running errands, well, they’re made to move. If I’m just chilling around the house, they’re comfortable, so I can just be chilling around the house. Doer jeans have five time the stretch of traditional denim. Uh, so and they feel stretchy without looking stretchy. They look like jeans, but they got the comfort of athletic wear. Plus, they got cool max. It’s a technology that regulates your body temperature and wicks moisture, so it keeps you cool and comfortable as temperatures change. They not only make great jeans, if you’re watching the YouTube video right now, I’m also wearing their no sweat moles skin buttondown. Just a comfy extra layer as it gets colder here in Portland. I’mma look great. I’mma feel great. I’m going to have the versatility to both be comfortable and look presentable so I can get out there and do things. It’s time to upgrade to the world’s most comfortable pants. Get your own Doer jeans today. I know you’ll love those, too. And Doer are opening a store right here in Portland on Northwest 23rd. Opening later this September at 820 Northwest 23rd Avenue. This is the new era of denim in Portland. And you can mention my promo code locked on Portland in store and you get 15% off your first order. Or you can check them out online at shopd.com/lockedonportland for 15% off. That’s shopder.com/lockedonport. [Music] All right. What we do in these season previews is we talk best and worst case scenarios. These are best case scenarios within reason. We’re not going to talk about awards that that folks have no shot of obtaining. And we’re not going to talk these are and worst case scenarios without injuries. We’re not going to talk about bodies breaking down. We’re talking about worst case scenarios that happen within the lines and best case scenarios reasonable based on what we know about these players. And luckily for you, I watch them close, so I feel like I know him pretty well. So what is the best case scenario for Tumani Kamara? It’s that he remains a defensive force. He’s versatile with a mix of physicality and craftiness and he sees an uptick in the defensive playmaking, boosting his block and steal numbers from the solidly above average level that he kind of sits at to a space of the elite levels while remaining perhaps the league’s greatest foul grifter. A dark arts wizard. The best case scenario is he doesn’t lose the magic, but he adds on to his game. On offense, the best case scenario for Tumani Kamar is that there’s a few more layers to what he’s already shown. More off the dribble creating, more passing on the move, significantly better finishing around the rim. And the best case scenario is that at the end of the season, Tummani isn’t a fun inclusion on all defense, but he’s an easy selection to the first team, and he’s becomes part of this fraternity of elite defenders with an annual invite to the alldefense teams. And not only is the best case scenario that he is a defensive player of the year finalist in the spring of 2026, it’s that he becomes officially an annual consideration for that level of hardware. The best case scenario is that Tummani is one of the games top defensive players and while adding enough on offense as in terms of versatility and and like new layers to his game that he isn’t considered a specialist, he’s just considered a good starting forward in the league who does all of the things that you would want a good starting forward to do. The best case scenario is that the Tammani you know and love comes in new better flavors. I think the best case scenario for Tumani Kamar honestly doesn’t look too much different on defense. He already had one of, you know, the 20 best defensive seasons in the league last year. He was already one of the very good defenders in the league. The best case scenario really comes with adding versatility and as you add more to your game, can you maintain the level of play that you had on defense? I think typically we will see guys who are offered more responsibility on offense generally take a you know a step back either minor or major on defense because you just don’t have like you you’re a human person you only have so much energy to do so. I don’t think Tummani is going to be asked to step into this sort of like major creator role. I I don’t anticipate that. But a little more stuff that he can do as an individual on offense along with the baseline of being the level of defender we’ve seen him be it leads him to to a um somewhere special. And why I mentioned the best case scenario as a fraternity is because I think once you get into this level of like yeah well we usually vote for Tumani for these type of things then you kind of can get the level of respect that gets you back in the list back in as a finalist back like you know you you probably only have somewhere like five to seven seasons of being like one of the true best defenders in league just because of the way athleticism works. Um, so it is, you know, if if Tumani were to graduate to that level again and be a first team alldefense selection as the best case scenario, he also would probably earn himself the like, oh, you’ve been an alldefense guy back-to-back years. You’re a defensive player of the year finalist back toback years. You know, you you kind of get this sort of level of respect. And I think I think that elite fraternity level of respect is is also part of the best case scenario. So, what’s the worst case scenario? It’s that the outside shooting regresses regresses back to below average and he never commands enough respect as a shooter to expand his offensive game. He is just left open daring him to shoot because he’s a league average shooter on relatively low volume. And so they just don’t they just straight up don’t care about it, right? They just say, “All right, cool. Do your thing.” That uh we’ll we’ll live and die with someone who shoots 36% from three and takes four and a half a game. we’ll just that that’s that’s fine. We’re not we’re just not worried about you. And because the shooting regresses back to slightly below average and he is still a below average rim finisher for a guy that lives at the line and at the paint, his offensive game never expands, nor does it really have a chance to. The worst case scenario on defense, well, it’s hard to see a massive regression um even in the worst case scenario. But but let’s say that there is a worst case scenario in which the foul grifting isn’t as prolific and he is merely a very good offensive foul drawer and not a historically successful one. The worst case scenario is that he remains a good defender but not quite great. And instead of entering the fraternity of respected defenders that I mentioned, he becomes a trivia answer. Allah Theo Ratliff in 2003 2004. The worst case scenario is Tummani gets labeled a specialist, a good defender who doesn’t do much else. The idea here is that um with best and worst case scenarios is that guys are going to finish in the middle. That’s the whole that’s the whole exercise, right? Is that there’s a low end and a high end. And that that my my goal with with best and worst case scenarios is to create like realistic polls. Um, not to say, you know, I I try to keep them relatively narrow. I think some guys have have really narrow ones and some guys have can have much wider out wider array of outcomes. Tumani is relatively narrow. I don’t think he’s going to end up being like a 32% three-point shooter this year, but if he did shoot 34 35% from three, like if he did regress a little bit as a shooter, it wouldn’t be shocking, right? Just because of like the nature of how shooting works. Guys have have good seasons and bad seasons. And even like you know I remember Alfukaminu shooting 38% from three and as a young journalist at the time I was like oh they fixed his shot he’ll be good now did not crack 35% in the following year right it’s like and who never got back there again um not to compare uh Aminu to but to to necessarily but in general like even guys who are bad shooters can have these positive outlier years um and I I think there’s a world in which that happens in terms of worst case scenario but I I do think his baseline of defense is good enough that He’s going to be a positive player because of that. Um I think he’s just effective um enough on as a defender even if he doesn’t end up like a you know on the all defense team even if he he’s somewhere like the oh yeah he’s one of the 30 best defenders as opposed to one of the best 15 or whatever. Um like I I I think he’ll I I think his his like he’s relatively narrow in terms of impact outcomes. But I do think the um the what he doesn’t do question in terms of expanding his game on offense is worth exploring a little bit because while I don’t think he’s going to have this a lot of opportunity to do a lot more, it is the ways like the simple ways in which Tummani could expand some of his game. Um I I I think point to a player that is more well-rounded. And because I think he has a baseline of being productive on on offense or excuse me on defense, I think adding like, you know, small little upticks in how productive and ways he can be productive on offense, um it could be could be a game changer. Let’s talk realistic role and expectations for for Tumani in that third segment. Uh join me there. We will do just that. First though, let’s talk about 5Hour Energy. Caffeine just got a flavor upgrade. 5-hour energy shots deliver tasty caffeine and 17 bold flavors. Each 2 oz shot packs the caffeine of a premium 12 oouncez cup of coffee, plus B vitamins and nutrients with zero sugar and zero crashes. So, what you’re going to love most about 5h hour energy is just how portable they are. Big taste, tiny shot, you can take it anywhere and get the boost you need when you need it. So, you can reach for your favorite flavors. They got the classic, they got the berry flavors, they got a fruit punch, they got a lemonade. Uh, but they also have some seasonal flavors. Right now, if you have been itching for a pumpkin spice that also packs uh as much co as much caffeine as a as a 12 oz cup of coffee, well, 5our Energy’s got that for you. So, enough with boring c boring flavorless caffeine. It’s time to give your caffeine a flavor upgrade with 5hour energy shots. Get the favorites you love and or be bold and try something new in store online at 5ourgy.com. That’s numerical5ourgy.com or on Amazon today. Still a pass versus point guard. I’m still Mike Richmond. Still listen to locks on Blazers. What we do to close these previews is talk realistic role and expectations. Tmani Kamaro is going to start at one of the forbid spots. I I just there’s just no way he doesn’t. Too productive, too useful, too important to the team identity. Um I’ll go one further. I think Tani tomorrow is going to lead the Portland Trailblazers minutes per game this season. um he just checks too many boxes and while I think they will need to stagger some minutes like Denny will could be up there too but I think they’ll need to stagger Denny with some lineups such that he might play you know one to two less minutes than Tumani a night because he’ll need to get out of the game in order to come back because they’re just going to need ball handling. Um they’re not going to probably run up Jeremy Grant’s minutes like that this year. There’s no Afrey Simons to soak up those minutes. There’s no I don’t think Drew Holiday is a candidate for that. Um, I think the way that um, uh, Shaden Sharp and Scoot Henderson were kind of punished a little bit for their defensive execution last year, defensive effort, defensive focus is probably the right word for that. Like I don’t think they’re candidates. I think Tammani Kamar is going to, you know, it’s not going to be Donovan Klingan just because he’s not going to be playing 33 minutes a night. So yeah, like I think Tumani Kamar is not only a starting forward on night one, I think he’s your minutes per game leader all season long for this team. Is he going to do what he does? Like if Tumani averaged 116 and two last year on 37 12% shooting from three. If he does that again, if he’s like a if he’s a 12 6 and2 shooting, 38% from three with the defensive level that he’s been at, he’s a good player. He plays for every team. He is the type of sort of versatile Swiss Army defender that can that can fit in so many different places. But I mentioned a couple things in earlier in the show that I want to get to cuz there there is a world in which he kind of um he needs to sort of expand his game. Uh let’s talk a little bit about the defensive stuff on first first. Um you know he is an above average in terms of for clean the glass tracks you know steal percentage block percentage by by position and among forwards he’s pretty good among forwards. He’s he’s above average, you know, in the 70 plus plus percentile for blocks and steals. But there is a world in which he take he levels up there as he becomes someone who does create more havoc. Uh block more shots as a as a weak side defender, block more shots on the ball, becomes someone who gets more steals than fouls. Um and and and the offensive foul stuff, he’s probably not going to be at the level he was last year. You know, he he drew an outrageous number of charges, right? um 31, the best in the league, but he also drew another 61 offensive fouls, like offball fouls. Um offens he he drew a total of 91. That was the third highest total since at least the ‘056 season. Uh that year, your boy Andy Verhaja had 99 offensive fouls. That’s Anderson Verha. 99 offensive fouls draw in the 0506 season. Lou Dort 93 in the 2223 season. Dort hasn’t been back up in those crazy high numbers, right? because you just kind of your game changes. And Dort is an elite defensive player. I I think he’s I think he’s a he’s one of the best defensive players in the league. Um although although I do think uh his he plays on a very good defensive team and has some good good defenders around him as well. Um but like Tumani’s probably not going to have that outlier season again. So what if you know he draws 16 17 18 less offensive fouls? It has to come from expanding his like the way he’s he continues to be an impact is the defensive playmaking is getting steals, blocking shots. I think that’s that’s a world where you get better. Um, steels isn’t like the end all be all and neither are blocks of like good a mark of good defenders. But in terms of of two who does have this one elite skill of offensive foul drawing, um, there’s it is unlikely to whenever you have one of these like the best X and X of the last 25 years, the chances that you do it again are relatively unlikely. So, it’s where can he expand his game? I think I think that is a place he can absolutely expand his game. The other place he can expand his game is on offense. Um, I want to pull up, if you are watching on YouTube, an incredible Tumani Kamar shot chart. Uh, if you’re watching on YouTube, um, if you’re watching on your phone, make this make this bigger. If you’re watching on TV, it’s already pretty big. Uh, Tumani Kamar took one, maybe depending on how you want to measure it, two non-p paint twos. Really, one. Um, one of them he’s like technically uh took it from out beyond the foul line, but his his feet were on the foul line when he took it when he took off took the jump shot. It’s it’s a paint it’s a paint touch. Um, the other one is a right-wing three that he had to take against the clock because he was trying to beat the shot clock. He never took one on purpose. If you look at his shot chart is immaculate. Paint touches and threes. But because he’s such a paint touch and three guy, he doesn’t really create his own shots. Um, 78 and a half% of his field goals last year were assisted. Um, 95.4% of his threes and 66 67 68.6 six or 66.8, excuse me. So 95% of his threes and 67% of his twos um were assisted. He’s a dude who doesn’t create a lot of his own offense and the place for him to take a step forward is probably creating his own offense. There are two ways that he could do that. One is just taking more threes. I think the volume of threes for Tumani absolutely has to increase. He jumped from 2 and 1/2 to 4.6. I I think a reasonable number for him to take this year is somewhere in the six and a half or seven three range. He needs to be a guy who shoots. He’s going to be on the court a lot and he needs to command respect not only in accuracy but in volume. A willingness to shoot and a willingness to shoot can open up so much more of what he does because he is so paint and um and three focused. And that that’s and that’s an emphasis from the entire league. It’s a big emphasis from the Blazers coaching staff and mostly the guys who operate in the mid-range are stars, guys who can create their own shots, right? Kaisu and and and Timman’s probably never going to be really that, but he he could be a driver. So, improving his finishing among forwards last year, he was pretty poor as a finisher. 62% out of the rim was in the 34th percentile as a finisher. And I actually think, and this is like the real nerd in me, increasing the number of threes he takes makes it more likely he gets cleaner attempts from two because if you are willing to shoot threes, the way they guard you changes. More on that in a moment. I mentioned his shot profile. 78 and a half% 79% of his field goals were assisted. That is a very similar shot profile um to Ojanobi. Ojanobi got super paid. You can make a whole bunch of money being that type of player. Herb Jones Obi 79% of his of his shots last season were assisted. Herb Jones 78.7% of his shots were assisted. uh for OG uh 69% of his twos and 91% of his threes as versus 67 and 95 for Tumani Herb Jones 70% of his twos were assisted and 100% of his threes were assisted. Every single three that went in came off an assist for Herb Jones. Um neither of those guys though, 71 and a half% at the of Ogenobi shots at the rim were assisted and 75% of Herb Jones’s shots at the rim were assisted. Tumani actually was better than those guys. 63.6% of his shots at the rim. Those are a lot of numbers, but what I want to tell you is that those are kind of like your quintessential offball 3 and D type of wings who don’t have a ton of shot creation. Um OG is probably like the quintessential get super paid 3 and D wing who’s who’s he’s a very good player, right? Um and has has has had some big nights, but he is not a guy you throw the ball to and say go get it. There is a world in which Tumani Kumar is very successful and very handsomely cons uh compensated for for his troubles while never changing his shot diet. But he already scores more at the rim and un unassisted than those guys. And I think if he continues that stretch more more shots where he’s driving to the rim, driving closeouts, take more shots at the rim where you drive closeouts um then and and finish at the rim and improve that finishing at the rim. That’s a that’s a skill thing that he can get um get better at. gets stronger and smarter about finishing. That that matters. Speaking of the type of shots and getting respect, here’s a little research I did for you. Tumani Kamar took uh 363 point attempts last year. 272 were what NBA’s track NBA.com’s tracking data from Second Spectrum called wide open. No defender within six feet of you. that 75.5% of Tumani Kamar’s three-point attempts were classified as wide open across the NBA. Tumani Kamar took the 15th most wide openen threes in the league. He’s 15th. The the names ahead of him, Royce O’Neal, Trey Young, Derek White, Dylan Brooks, Tyresese Hallebertton, Kobe White, Payton Pritchard, Jiren Jackson Jr., Nas Reed, Darius Garland, Austin Reeves, Miles Turner, George Niang, Keegan Murray, then Tummani. Taking open threes is good. It’s somewhat in some ways self- selected, right? If you’re wide open, shoot the damn ball. So, I I’m not against the number. In fact, that’s that’s great. Take take wide openen shots, right? It’s the it’s the splits. Among the players, the 15 players with the most uh wide openen threes in the league, according to NBA.com, only two took a higher were a higher percentage of their total three-point attempts were wide open. Royce O’Neal, 85% of Royce O’Neal’s three-point attempts were wide open. He shot 40% from three. And 80% of Jiren Jackson Jr.’s three-point attempts were open. He had been a below average three-point shooter in his career. He had a much better shooting season this this this year, but 80% of his three-point attempts were wide open. Everyone else, Trey Young about half, Derek White about half, uh, Halbertton 55%, Kobe White 55%, Peyton Pritchard about half, guys who are up in in that sort of towards Tumani’s range, Dylan Brooks, Nas Reed, Miles Turner, um, the guys Keegan Murray, 61% of his of his uh, three-point attempts were were wide open. He shot 34% from three. Bad shooters get left open on the wing. And the other players who seem to get open on the wing um are Royce O’Neal because they’re just not worried about you. Uh there’s there’s other fish to fry. And um because you’re not going to do much off the dribble, they’re going to leave you open. I I would say that Royce O’Neal, the two examples I want to point to here as we wrap up are, you know, if if the guys with the biggest percentage of wide open threes are pick and pop bigs, trip Triple J, that’s Jiren Jackson Jr. at 80% and Nas Reed at 65%. Miles Turner at 72%. That’s because the big man is sagging into the paint. you’re pick and popping. You get, you know, your defender is a center. He’s going, he’s like st, you know, trying to corral the ball handler and you get a a pick and pop kick out. You’re going to get open threes, right? Tumani is not going to be that. Although, I would like to see him set more screens. I think that’d be a really fun wrinkle if he was Tummani as a screener. I think has real real value. I hope the Blazers explore that. I don’t think they will, but I hope they do because I think he’s a good screener. He’s really good at slipping screens. He’s very, very good at slipping screens. I think that’s probably Tummani’s best offball skill right now is he’s a good cutter, but he’s particularly a good cutter when he slips screens. So I think it’s in two ways. Royce O’Neal, they are not worried about Royce O’Neal. And if Tumani Kamar becomes Royce O’Neal, a guy who is who is a pretty good defensive player, like you know, he’s Royce is in his early 30s, right? He’s played in the league for a long time. A pretty good defensive player and a good shooter. You’re a solid role player who’s kind of like a fringe starter on decent teams for a long time. Tum money can carve himself out a nice little role. He’s not going to be this pick and pop big. the volume has to jump up because if you if if the volume jumps up, you shoot way more threes at at just um at an at if you’re not getting guarded and you jump the volume up, one, you’re taking a bunch of high quality wide open three-pointers. Good. Take them. Those are good shots in the modern NBA. Or two, you start to change the geometry. You start to change how you get guarded. Um if you are taking four and five threes a game, they’re probably like, “Ah, dang. We should guard him.” If you are taking six, seven, eight threes a game, it starts to be like we cannot leave him open. And then that brings that changes the whole game plan. And I think for two, that’s the test. Can he graduate to a level where his three-point shooting changes the changes the geometry, changes the calculation. The next step after that is is a bunch of, you know, u the sort of unassisted shot creation stuff. Can he get to Jaylen Williams? That’s JDub. um the wing in Oklahoma City at 48% of his shots are are are assisted. You know, more than half his shots are self-created. Or a man Thompson who in year one only 55% of his shots were were um were assisted. 45% of his of his buckets came unassisted. Um that is step two. Step one is feasting on these wide openen threes. Taking upping the volume because they aren’t guarding you. You know, 75% of your three-pointers are wide open. upping the volume so it changes the way they guard you, allowing you to drive closeouts, allowing you to get to the rim, allowing you to change the geometry for your teammates and yourself. I think the role for Tumani is really obvious and my expectations are that some of these boxes get checked and as you check some of these boxes it allows him to graduate from like he’s going to be good regardless but if he’s going to be a special role player and I don’t think too many graduates to like star because I don’t think he has enough juice to be a guy you can throw the ball to and say go get a bucket but if he could be a guy that you could throw the ball to and he has you know two three four different ways to score you know shoot off the dribble drive a close out, shoot the open shot, make a play off the bounce when when the defenses rotate over. If he has more variety to his game, then he takes a level from solid role player that’s helpful to elite role player. And elite role players, you know what? They get the bag. Ask OG Anobi. Uh that is going to do it for today’s program. Come back for tomorrow’s show. It’s what we do five days a week wherever you get podcasts. Also on YouTube. Tell your friends about the program. I appreciate you listening. I’ll talk to you soon. Natasha.

Toumani Camara is already a solid role player. What can he add to his game to level up in his third NBA season?

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBlazers?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

Watch the show and subscribe on YouTube
📺 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeE7WdPaNWwA-IZGfHek90Q?sub_confirmation=1

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
DUER
A new era in denim has arrived in Portland, get the first (and best) jeans built to move. Mention my promo code LOCKEDONPORTLAND in store to get 15% off your first order! Or check them out online at ShopDuer.com/LOCKEDONPORTLAND

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first year

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuel
Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#TrailBlazers #NBA