The Differences B/W Tyson Chandler and Tyrus Thomas, And why Derrick Rose won't make Tyrus better Options

[SoxFan1]

I've been hearing a lot recently about how Rose would be the right pick because he would make Tyrus a much better player, and I'm beginning to wonder where people are getting these assumptions from. The immediate comparison (and most oft used here) has been Rose/Tyrus = Paul/Chandler. It seems people are a bit high on the lottery still and thinking unrealistically.

First off, to those who think Rose is going to come in an light the world on fire, be cautiously optimistic. Chris Paul as a rookie (80 starts) dropped 16.1 ppg and 7.8 apg. Deron Williams as a rookie (47 starts) scored 10.1 with 4.5 apg. People are expecting CP3 2008 numbers out of Rose as a rookie and it just doesn't happen like that. He'll be good, damn good, but he's not a finished product yet. And on top of that, there are no guarantees we will pick him anyway.

Now, as far as the Tyson/Tyrus comparisons, they really disappoint me. I don't know how many times people have said Tyrus is a good defender down low. Are you watching the same team as me? Tyrus is a poor man on man defender. Nearly all of his blocks come from help defense or from scuffles down low. His rebounding isn't really a skill, just more so that he is able to out-jump a ton of other players. But anyway, people are saying that Paul has helped Chandler so much and made him the player he is....umm, no. First off, Chris Paul is a top 2 PG in the league. Between he and Deron Williams, its very close. Rose isn't going to come in and be an MVP candidate right away. Second, Tyson Chandler has comparable numbers to what he had in his career in Chicago. His rebounding and scoring increases are pretty much because of more minutes and consistent minutes.

Now, as far as abilities, we all know Tyrus is a freak athlete, but he has very little skill. Tyson possesses skills. He is a great defender, one of the top in the game. He displays passion that are rarely seen by anyone in the league, let alone on the Bulls. Tyrus only gets excited when he gets a huge dunk and-one. Then he misses the FT and goes back to his mediocre self. I'll never forget Tyson's block on Paul Pierce to save a game and help clinch a playoff birth for the Bulls a few years back. Tyson actually has skill as a defender. When the hell has Tyrus Thomas ever shown ANY kind of defensive abilities like Chandler. And blocks don't really count for TT because he attempts to block everything, and with his jumping ability, he'll run into a few.

Don't get me wrong, he's definitely benefited from having CP3 tossing him alley oops 6 times a game, but basically that's all of his offensive output. He still doesn't have any real offensive game. Balta, you've been throwing around the "Put Rose/Tyrus in a room and make them watch Tyson/CP3 videos" stuff, but you have to want to be good. Tyrus has no work ethic whatsoever. He is pretty content with rotting away on the bench. He said it himself, the dunk contest was all about the free money. He seems like he has no motivation. Instead of working to gain starting minutes, he just thinks it should be granted to him. I recall draft day 2006 that some people proposed we take Tyrus over Aldridge because Tyrus had much better potential and wasn't "soft" and had a great attitude. Yes, great attitude. I have yet to see that.

When have we ever read about Tyrus Thomas busting his ass at practice, or getting to practice early or something? Never. We only hear about how he skips practice, is a numskull, and lashes out as his coaches. Tyrus has passion, sure. But his passion is different than Chandlers. Tyrus passion is selfish. Tyson's passion was always team oriented. He was excited to be on the court and to contribute. Skiles said it himself, "the next time Tyrus runs down the court hard will be the first." I specifically recall one possession where Tyrus stood in the half circle behind the free throw line nearly the entire possesion while the offense passed it around the perimeter. He had his arms out asking for the ball with a guy standing right on him. And when he didn't get the ball, he threw his arms down in disgust and jogged back down to the other end of the court.

One thing I'll give Tyrus is that he actually has SOME (not very much) offensive ability. He has an ok jump shot (though extremely inconsistent) but still has no low post moves. He can't post up because he can't control his dribble long enough to do so, he doesn't have enough strength, and he is a terrible finisher. He's one of the worst finishers in the league because of it, uncontested dunks/layups are virtually all he makes. I'd still much rather have Tyson Chandler. Tyson's offensive potential never really came to fruition, but he still worked on his defense. I don't see any of that in Tyrus. Now he is going to be working out with Thorpe? Whoop dee doo, he coached Bosh and Harrington...both of them are PF's who rely a TON on jumpshots. That is not what we want from Tyrus. We need him to be a PF and bang down low. Tyson at least had the size, where as Tyrus is an undersized PF.

Tyrus' best opportunity would have come had D'Antoni been hired as Coach. Now, I have a hard time thinking he'll even be on the Bulls come October.