SB Nation User Blog: Tyrusmancrush

Summer League Impressions of TT and Friends

Tyrusmancrush — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:47:21 -0000

I know it's only 3 games and some world beaters become egg beaters once the regular season begins. Others show enough skills to earn a seat on an NBA bench after being ignored in the draft. Raw rookies get a taste of competition and young veterans can sharpen their games. So these are more than just glorified scrimmages with a bunch of guys unlikely to even make the "D" league, I would like to get feedback from other Blogabullers on their observations so far.

HERE ARE MINE After game one, I wrote Lay off TT all you naysayers

After seeing 3 games, and openly admitting to some personal biases when evaluating Tyrus through my Rose colored glasses, I feel most of the negativity directed at his performances seem overly critical by those doubting Thomases on this blog. What I observed was a rejuvinated player with a huge potential upside who is working hard to improve his deficiencies but still has a lot to learn:

I am predicting you Thomas haters will eventually be eating crow. This will be a breakout year for "the human highlight film", primarily on the defensive end once he (and Kirk) cut down on those silly fouls, while his improving offense will be a pleasant surprise and icing on a cake that the “soul eater” will be feasting on under our new and vastly improved coaching staff.

The Bulls are headed for the playoffs now that the “corpse” and his fellow zombies have returned to their crypts. Bloodsucking Boyl*n can no longer drain the life out of the baby bulls and TT will soar like an eagle now that his shackles have been removed and his new coaches continue to teach him how to harness and exploit his freakish athleticism, motivating him to someday reach his huge upside potential with more positive feedback in a week than he received his first 2 years here.

As I watched him race across the court in Orlando, I remember Skiles and B*#l%n lamenting the fact that he never ran the floor, not even once while anxioulsy waiting for him to make a mistake that would once again relegate him to the end of the pines to teach him a lesson that they are in charge and he has made them angry for not following their non-functional game plan.

Rose, TT, Thabo and Noah may never win any shooting contests, but if the NBA had relay races, they would be Gold Medal favorites. This is going to be an exciting year from a fans standpoint regardless of their record. Basketball is going to be an entertaing spectator sport once again next season with the Bulls new uptempo offensive sets.

TT has so far averaged 18 pts per game in 27 minutes, along with 7.7 boards, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 3 turnovers. His FG % was .436 with his midrange jumper showing much more accuracy than last year. More impressive was his attacking the rim that led to 24 FTA in which he made 20 (.833). He penetrated and drew fouls consistently even though the lanes were jammed due to a lack of spacing. If he can improve his footwork and set himself better, he could be a monster this season with his quickness if defenders have to guard his jumpshot more closely while he flys by them for a jam. The Bulls need more slashers who can get opponents in penalty situations earlier. Once Derrick Rose gets comfortable working with him, I believe this will lead to some spectacular ally oops and easy baskets in transition since their lightening quickness will lead to many more trips to the line fpr both of them.

Rose initially played soft and tentatively at first until Vinnie told him to pick up the pace and he started penetrating instead of dishing off at the top of the key. His jump shot has been non-existent and his point guard skills are very unrefined, but his atleticism is on full display. As I said earlier, Rose has much to learn and will not immediately be the second coming of Chris Paul or even Chris Duhon until he is ready to take off the training wheels with more experience, thus the need to somehow keep both Hinrich and Gordon until Rose is thoroughly potty trained. Rose shot only .294, hittting mostly layups and missed 5 of 14 FT's. In 28:45 minutes he averaged 9.5 pts., 4.5 assists and 4 turnovers.

Noah does not appear to be in game shape, although he came out of his fog in the 3rd game and should be fine by the beginning of the season. Hopefully by then, he will have developed some type of rudimentary shot to keep the defense honest and make at least 50% of his FT's. His energy and rebounding will only get better. Gray has lost some baby fat and is moving much better (still extremely slow) but is a force once he establishes position in the paint. He should be helpful offensively against certain teams that do not rely on quickness. (8.3 pts per game in 12.35 minutes).

Nichols averaged 13.3 ppg (.419) in 28:35 minutes, while showing 3 pt. range. He may be a keeper since his long range shooting can help space the floor, especially if we trade Noce. Finally , Langford averaged 13.7 PPG in 28;20 minutes, shooting an amazing .682 from the floor and 50% on 3's. PeeOn Curry also exhibited some ball handling skills in approximately 20 minutes per game, shooting only .381 but he did tie Rose in assists with 11. Both should at least make the "D" league. Simmons demonstrated shot blocking skills but zero offense. None of the others wil be on any Bulls or D league roster once the season starts,,,, in my opinion.

Your thoughts?

I've always been a big Chicago Bulls fan and I hope they don't trade Frank Thoms just because he...

Tyrusmancrush — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:05:41 -0000

I've always been a big Chicago Bulls fan and I hope they don't trade Frank Thoms just because he doesn't get along with the coaches. From what I've been told, nobody else does either.

So what if we trade Thomas, he's a wasted high draft pick

Tyrusmancrush — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 06:34:38 -0000

and will never learn the system just like Tyson Chandler before him, who has a field goal percentage of only .620 this season along with double digit rebounds and is practically over the hill having turned 25 this year. If you believe what you read and hear from the likes of Jimbo, Red, KC and sometimes Sam, he was a cocky, uncooperative, somewhat slow-witted punk with a bad attitude who needs to be dumped for whatever the Bulls can get for him in the off season since he just can't seem to master even the basic sets.

In the world according to Boylan, TT has for the most part, been a disappointing cancer who consistently failed to execute the game plan on both ends of the court, who couldn't follow directions, who NEVER ran the court, who was constantly caught out of postition, who didn't deserve any plays run for him, ad infinitum, which is why he rotted away both physically and emotionally on the bench for most of the year,

If Gooden hadn't gone down and some others weren't injured, neither he nor Thabo would have seen much PT all season. And where would Noah be if Pax hadn't been able to dump the corpse? After watching his dismal outing tonight, I almost feel sorry for Big Ben. You know he would give his best effort if he had anything left in his near empty tank. I truly believe the main reason Boylan and his staff of trolls relied so heavily on the veterans was because they knew whether consciously or not that they didn't have enough smarts to teach and develop the younger, less experienced players where they could be competitive on a nightly basis and feared being exposed as clueless nincompoops.

I believe Scott Skiles was a control freak who deliberately surrounded himself with weaker sycophantic assistants who would be grateful for their jobs and thus pose no threat to his authority. When he exited on Christmas Eve, he knew the team would flop under the rudderless non-leadership of the Boylan crew and thus could preserve his reputation as a coach who can turn a bunch of flubs into fierce competitors. He probably is secretly enjoying every moment of this tragicomedy since his departure. If the Bulls had hired a real coach and did turn it around, it would have reflected badly on him and his iron fisted techniques, but he knew as long as his favorite lackey, lamebrain Boylan was in charge the chances of this were less than slim to none.

On the other hand,little old Hubie Brown needed to cover only 3 Bulls games this season to recognize the athleticism and potential of Tyrus, referring to him as a highlight film, and complementing Noah's great energy and effort, especially when both were on the floor together dominating the boards and shutting down the inside lanes except for LBJ who gets almost every call, although he was stymied after his first quarter domination He was impressed with how quickly Tyrus got downcourt and what an impressive all around game he showed, blocks, rebounds, assists, and scoring. If he was LBJ some of those charges would have gone the other way. Hubie also stated Thomas should be given more minutes to improve his game. Most blogabullers have been calling for this pairing of the 2 athletic energy bunnies since day 1. Now that the season is almost kaput, along with Boylan's job, has he finally got a clue?

But who are we to believe, Bulbous Boylan or Hubie, the man who took a young inexperienced Memphis team and made them winners, only to have them sink back into mediocrity once he left? I wish Hubie would hang up his microphone even for one season and teach these kids how to play the game and maximize their potential. They could learn more in one season from the old master than they could in a lifetime of Boylans,

Once the Bulls throw Captain Bligh and his officers overboard and retake the Bounty, it may not be necessary to abandon ship. With the right leader at the helm, this team can someday once again sail through the NBA with the wind at their backs and recapture the pride they once had, provided they add a few more deckhands who can handle the inevitible storms ahead, like another post-up big and a talented point guard.

Finally. I think the key to preserving the victory tonight instead of replicating their infamous 4th quarter choke act was the outstanding point guard and defensive play of the forgotten swabbie, the diminuative give it his all, Chris Duhon. I may be a dreamer but I still believe Tyrus is destined to be an all-star once he gets the right direction and more maturity. I hope my dream won't become a nightmare if it comes true, but he is wearing a different uniform.

If Boylan was a turd

Tyrusmancrush — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:52:22 -0000

he would drawf the Sears Tower. Let's express our love for the man who said "I don't get rattled. When the heat is on I believe I'm actually at my best!" As the heat goes up, the turd gets higher, this ball of fire.

He has driven Duhon into depression, Nocioni into a wet noodle, Gray into an frustrated anger machine, Noah into volcanic rages and Tyrus into someonone who would prefer hiding in his closet rather than face the incoherent rants of Boylan. Lately, HInrich was spotted in the locker room rolled up in the fetal position sucking on a doodle after and exchange with the great one.

What a motivator. If he were coaching the Celtics, they'd still be fighting for a playoff spot with KJ wondering why he's riding the bench in crunch time while the 4 guard lineup struggles not to blow another 30 point lead.

Most of us know the Bulls failure lies primarily at the foot of TT who has been in a funk for the last 5 games (bulls 2-3) reflected by his poor shooting and limited minutes.
Here is his breakdown:
Minutes played 70:55
FG 6-26 .229 FT 10-13 .779 Rebounds 16
Assists 4 Blocks 3 PF's 9 Turnovers 1

Prorating these dreary stats over 2 games of 35 minutes each...average of our other forwards becomes: points per game 11 assists 2 rebounds 8
PF's 4.5 blocks 1.5 Turnovers 0.5.

No wonder he rides the bench, Thomas is a human turnover machine. One in over 70 minutes..and don't think Boylan doesn't remember it vividly. Unfortunately it seems he is incable of remembering more than one play for any extended period....thus explaining his rotations.

As Jimbo admitted..."I'm not a stats man" here are some numbers over the last 5 games he may want to peruse, assuming he can read.

Player Minutes (+/-)
Hughes 153:58 -31
Deng 185:55 -28
Noah 120:15 -18
Gooden 172:14 -16
Gordon 148:41 -14
Nocioni 75:52 0
Nichols 4:22 +2
Gray 34:28 +6
Tabo 110:08 +11
Kirk 118:13 +21
THOMAS 70:55 +22

Notice a pattern you festering boil? Look at the stats! Even when Tyrus is floundering, he still blows away your favorites...players have to earn their minutes...your fat ass. You are a complete enema bag that is constantly overflowing.

Now I feel better. I am climbing off the edge again...no thanks to the prince of dunces and his fellow retards.

Missed the game tonight to see "No Country for Old Men

Tyrusmancrush — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:22:41 -0000

It reminded me of watching a Bulls game. The film ended abruptly with nothing resolved, leaving the audience feeling empty and dissastified (except for the buttercorn).

Since I draw most of my Bulls sustinance by watching Tyrus Thomas highlight reruns on youtube and dreaming what could have been, tonight's victory seems like a rerun of another of Jim Boylan's formula farces. We all know the script, play as many guards as possible, keep Tyrus and Noah pinned to the bench and always have a hair-raising helter-skelter finish using similar plot lines that make no sense to anyone except the loony director who is deluded into thinking he has created another masterpiece because management continues to let thim grind out these stinking turds. One in a row...One in a row! Let's award Boylan a Golden Finger Award.

Here are some 4th quarter stats from the 2 recent games where the Bulls blew 20+ point leads in recent reverse order-New Orleans, 76r's.-

Nocioni 0 minutes 6:12 (-8)
Tabo 2.30 (-10) 8:35 (-18)
Gray 0 0
Tyrus 0 3:07 (-3)
Gordon 12 (-20) 3:02 +1
Noah 10:20 (-17) 0
Deng 12 (-20) 12 (-20)
Hughes 10:20 (-17) 6:23 (-13)
Kirk 1:38 ( -3) 11:41 (-22)
Gooden 10:07 (-13) 8:32 (-14)

In the Washington fiasco, Deng played the entire 2nd half, racking up a (-24) while Larry Hughes was (-32) in 18:32 minutes. Can we conclude that Leol needs some rest time as the game regresses and our small ball combinations are pathetic at best? Tyrus sat out the final 34 minutes of the Wizard game and Gray is not even an afterthought. Suggestions anyone?