I enjoyed the recent thread comparing Thomas and Lee. I thought Lee came out on top. I think a closer comparison can be made between Thomas and Balkman. Here are some stats

Thomas Balkman
Minutes 10:48 13:24
PPG 3.7 3.4
Boards 2.8 3.4
Blocks 1.0 0.8
Assts 0.5 0.7
TO 1.2 0.8

We see some similar numbers. Neither is a star. Thomas is the better shot blocker. Both are very good rebounders. I think Balkman is the better man defender and the better shot blocker.

The conclusion. Whatever we lost in last year's draft by trading for Curry, we made up by getting the Denver pick in the infamous trade with Toronto for Jalen Rose.

Correction. Thomas is the better shot blocker. Balkman is the better man defender and the better passer.

I just looked up their PERs out of curiosity. Balkman: 12.1. T Thomas: 13.7. It's not a huge difference. I don't see Ty Thomas play often enough to really comment on his game. He's had some monster blocks when I've watched, though.

these guys haven't played enough.

Right now....their both scrubs trying to earn minutes.

I would take Balkman over Ariza in a second

Posted by bobs3304:

A better comparison would be TT and Lee...

even if you compare last season of Lee when he wasn't getting minutes to this season of Tyrus, Lee has a better rebounding rate, more ppg, and a higher PER.

when guys play so few minutes it's difficult to compare. One guy may be asked to just play d when he's out there so his scoring numbers are down. One may be asked to play out of position which may hurt his numbers. One may be getting minutes in garbage time when noone cares which may help their numbers. Guys also develop at different speeds. There is someone right now that looks like they may be a star that will eventually level out and go nowhere. And there is someone who is nonexistant that will turn into a very good player.

The moral of the story is it's too early to tell. Give Balkman 3 or4 years to get his career going. Same with Thomas. Same with Lee and the same with Frye.