Better rebound year: Bargnani or Thomas?

[Bankai]

Andrea Bargnani and Tyrus Thomas both had good rookie years, then in their sophomore year seemed to have declined or fallen off the map. People believe that they have no where to go but up and are poised to make a splash next year or soon. So in your opinion, who would have the better bounce back year and why: Andrea Bargnani or Tyrus Thomas? (I dont mind any Bulls and Raptors Fans posting their opinion on this, but I would take other fans opinions more to heart.)

[Charlie78]

I would have to say tt. Merely based on oppurtunity. The players in front of him are not nearly as good as Bosh and JO. Asuuming health of course both of those guys are going to get 35 min plus. Thus limiting bargs oppurtunity's. I dont buy for a second that he can play sf, he just isnt quick enough laterally to stay in front of most sfs.

[tsherkin]

Bargs, maybe. I expect him to return to rookie production because he's going to have nothing to do but hit stand-still threes and 20-footers while defenders sag off of him worrying about O'neal (when he's healthy).

He might even lift himself above that baseline because the floor will be opened up more with two notable offensive threats on the floor (JO and Bosh), though I don't hold out too much hope of that.

Tyrus Thomas remains a good defender and rebounder. If he has anything resembling a post game or a jump shot going into this season, and if Vinny Del Negro gives him the minutes and touches, then he already posts better per-minute numbers that could translate into a noticeably superior progressive year.

Or the reverse could happen; Bargs could explode because he's so open and he gets his confidence back. He's a nasty spot-up shooter and we won't really be experimenting with him in the post as much as last year because Bosh and Hump and JO will be there (providing JO is healthy). So, lots of stand-still Js, solid efficiency, 11-14 ppg? It's not out of the realm of possibility.

And if VDN doesn't like TT, then he's pooched, because they have Noah and Gooden taking up minutes there... and Deng, too, even if it's only for the QO.

[CBS7]

Tyrus, I think there's no way that he gets less then 25 or so mpg this season, and he could get as high as 30-32 a game if Nocioni is moved.

If he's getting those type of minutes I expect decent to good production. Around 12-15 ppg and 8-9 rpg. His jumpshot improved dramatically from his rookie year and last year it was just below average, at worst.

[tsherkin]

I think Tyrus shows a lot of promise and projects to be a pretty solid 12 and 8 player this year, with 2+ bpg as well. Especially if he can stick a J at the elbows and the foul line, he'll be looking good.

[Derekman]

I'd have to say Bargs as he's getting more extensive training this summer.

[NetsForce]

Josh Boone will outperform both of them.

[CBS7]

I think Tyrus shows a lot of promise and projects to be a pretty solid 12 and 8 player this year, with 2+ bpg as well. Especially if he can stick a J at the elbows and the foul line, he'll be looking good.

12/8 with 2 blocks is actually what I predicted in the stat prediction thread.

[tsherkin]

I'd have to say Bargs as he's getting more extensive training this summer.

Mostly meaningless training. Remember, the Raptors just added a guy who might score 20 ppg. Bargs isn't going to score a lot more than he did as a rookie, the question is mainly about his efficiency. He's certainly not going to improve on the glass and even if he did, it'd be masked by JO's presence. So realistically, his prospects for improvement are largely hampered by O'neal's arrival.

[Relentless88]

Really depends on how much minutes each gets, but I think Tyrus might start for Chicago this year so he'd look better. Behind Bosh and JO, unless Bargnani gets faster and plays SF, he's looking at 25 minutes per game at most.