Once you have successfully identified them, feel free to comment on a side-by-side comparison of their stats. Seems like one of them is much more valued by the fanbase than the other.
I love them both. Camara a better on ball defender, Tisse a great "free safety" on defense. Kinda similar to Covington. I think Thybulle came with a lot of negative baggage being benched in the playoffs by Doc, limited offensively, etc. And the eye test shows me a lot of growth. Same with Camara. I'm honestly kinda surprised looking at his ppg numbers until I look at his splits, and the last 3 months, he went 13, 13, 14. I want them both here.
Camara is much bigger and a superior defender. He's also shot better. Thybulle has a track record of being a below average three point shooter in his career. I don't care about one small 15 game sample last season. Camara is much younger as well with far fewer seasons in the NBA so hopefully he has potential to further improve. Camara while having a lower usage than average has primarily been a starter with much higher usage players. Thybulle has primarily been a backup while still having a significantly lower usage and fewer shots than Camara. Even when Thybulle shooting % is ok he's hurting the offense being so uninvolved. Camara is just about an ideal 3+D player as a starter or a great backup. Thybulle is more like a 10th man or 3rd string. I'm totally fine with playing Thybulle if we have injuries and need him, but ideally we have better options in the rotation.
Of course, the obvious criticism is that it's a much smaller sample size with Matisse. But in practically every measure he is equal or superior to Camara (including rebounds, but excluding FT%). And yet we're talking about a massive extension for Camara but add Matisse to every trade proposal just to make up salary. If Matisse could keep up that 3 point shooting, his value would skyrocket.
I was thinking Camara and Thybulle but i couldn't believe Thybulle could have shot that low a FT% Why wasn't I batching about it last season?
we can't expect 44% shooting on three's from Thybulle. but we can expect that a Camara/Thybulle rotation (and yeah, I know they won't always replace each other on the floor) will leave Portland with at least one lock-down defender on the floor for 48 minutes; and sometimes with 2. That's something special, especially considering they both have developed solid 3&D skills I'm wondering if the Blazers are planning to re-sign Thybulle next summer. The 2026-27 cap-space option seems DOA after signing Dame. And a healthy Thybulle is a decently valuable rotation player. Re-signing him will probably take some tax line acrobatics, but it might be worth the effort
Now I did forget that Thybulle played with Lillard. We acquired him at the Feb2023 trade deadline so there was a few months they were together. Grant and Sharpe were the only other current Blazers to have played with Lillard - so thats 4 players from our 2022-23 roster.
The problem is your looking at a 15 game sample instead of Thybulle 347 games. Camara was very good as a rookie too and started 49 games, he's been great from his first day and continues to improve. Thybulle hasn't really improved in a meaningful way since his 3rd year and will be 29 during this 7th season. I'm happy to have him as a 10th man or 3rd string. But theres many very good reasons Camara is slotting in as a starter and Thybulle is not in that discussion.
Camara has played 148 games for us. Thybulle has played 102. I don't know all that went down in Philly. But we've definitely seen growth in Thybulle since he's been here. And while yes, a small sample size, especially being a little older, it is ok to see, expect, and accept growth in players when they move from a different situation. Especially in regards to shooting, he took 507 3s in his 245 games in Philly. He's taken 364 here. So while a small sample, it's close to what he did there. Freedom to shoot? Opportunity? Positive coaching? Growth and dumb luck?
If its a one year extension I'm fine with doing it - but more than that I think the Blazers need to wait on Thybulle. We need to see how all our rotation players play, Sharpe contract, any trades that happen, etc. Basically all the starters and top backups need more clarity first. Might end up where we trade Scoot for a wing and have zero use for Thybulle or have to pay some max contract to Sharpe. Better to figure out those moves first. The risk of Thybulle walking next summer just isn't a major cost to the Blazers either. If you view him as a great 6th man I guess that calculus changes.
Because it was in a bunch of meaningless games at the end of the season. He barely played. These stats are meaningless.
