Post#37 » by Dieselbound&Down » Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:09 pm
I wanted to weigh in with the other Bulls fans.
There are a lot of what I consider misconceptions in this thread. But expected ones from someone who doesn't see the team play every day as his minutes have been very sporadic and his headlining comments dumb.
Tyrus has a high motor and spontaneous personality. This with his lack of maturity and sophistication leads him to occasionally do and say dumb things. These outbursts get the broader exposure but day to day you don't feel a bad vibe coming out of him other than frustration at his lack of court time. He seems to be calming down and mentally improving his focus and comfort level on the court.
This year on the court he has been much less of a the explosive dunker that was seen last year. I think that has to do with the team generally being much more selfish and the fact that Tyrus has played significant stretches at SF on the perimeter where he is clearly not comfortable or skilled enough to be effective offensively. His jumper is now reliable although not great, but a significant upgrade over his attempts last year. He clearly worked hard on this aspect. He is aggressive with the ball and shows much improved footwork facing guys up and with his back to the basket doing a pivot and/or jump hook. He will never be smooth enough to be a true go to player but, if against the right player, he has shown the mindset and ability to dominate with the ball in his hand. A game a month ago against Golden State he took over in the 4th quarter scoring 13 points as the team scored on 9 of its last 10 possessions. They dumped to ball to him in the post and he repeatedly took Matt Barnes off the dribble. It was his show.
On defense he is about as can be expected. His footwork on the ball is generally very good and he has elite quickness to guard men out on the perimeter. He also has elite jumping ability leading to lots of blocks off the ball especially. He tends to go for fakes guarding his man and has trouble bodying up without fouling right now. Consequently, he sometimes allows his guy to make a move unmolested and play for the block. This is effective against the poorer players but not good against better players. He has a lot of work to do to be great but he has an aggressive style, a super motor and shown the desire to get better.
Overall, he is definitely a work in progress. As advertised coming out of college. I would agree with those that say he has so much improvement still to do that it is heavily against the odds that he'll ever be a franchise player offensively. He has improved dramatically in what he can reliably do, though, and if given 30 minutes a night there is no reason he shouldn't be averaging at least 15 ppg in the near future given the variety of ways he scores. His defense could be extraordinary but he still needs to improve technique and put on some weight. As a teammate, I wouldn't characterize him as a cancer but he can be volatile, he is hyper competitive and he is still immature.
As for trading him, I don't think you'll see the Bulls trade him unless it is part of a package for an established star or rising superstar quality player. Two more years he'll be under contract. As a Bulls fan I just hope management turns him loose and hopes he reaches some of his potential so he doesn't become the next Chandler.
