Tony Snell: Is Chicago Bulls SF In Danger Of Falling Out Of Rotation?
The Chicago Bulls selected Tony Snell with the No. 20 pick in the 2013 draft. At the time, the selection appeared to be a good fit for a couple of reasons.
First of all, Snell was a capable scorer, and he finished the 2012-13 season at New Mexico with averages of 12.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds. Secondly, at 6’7″, the Bulls hoped to use his size and length to defend multiple positions.
But what the Bulls were mostly interested in was his ability to knock down shots from long distance. In fact, Snell shot a somewhat respectable 42 percent from the field, but his 39 percent from three-point range made him the perfect fit for a Bulls team that was coming off a season in which they shot just 35 percent from beyond the arc.
During his rookie campaign, however, Snell played inconsistently for the most part. And although he played more minutes (16.0) than any other rookie during their first year under Tom Thibodeau, his numbers were modest to say the least.
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/27/2014.
With a scoring average of just 4.5 points per game, and an overall shooting percentage of just 38 percent, including 32 percent from three-point range, Snell did not quite live up to expectations. And as was the case with Marquis Teague two years ago, Snell hoped that he would elevate his game by playing in the team’s summer league.
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Initially, it appeared that is exactly what Snell needed, as he scored 20 points per contest while converting 46 percent of his attempts in the five-game tournament, including a scorching 50 percent from distance.
As a result of his superb play, Snell earned a spot on the All-NBA Summer League First Team along with teammate Doug McDermott. In addition to that, Snell was playing the game with a lot more confidence than he showed during his up-and-down rookie season, as explained Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson:
"If you’re not confident out there, you shouldn’t be playing. “I’ve got a lot of shots up this summer and I feel pretty confident."
Unfortunately for Snell, the success he had during the summer did not carry over into training camp. And although his 15.6 minutes per contest during the preseason were consistent with his minutes from last season, his playing time was rather sporadic, and he often did not enter games until the fourth quarter.
When asked to assess his second-year player, head coach Tom Thibodeau offered this assessment following a preseason game against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 7, per the Chicago Tribune:
"He has to continue to work and study. The biggest challenge is to be consistent. He had some good moments and he had some moments where obviously he can do a lot better. We just want to make sure he moves in the right direction."
Fast forward to present day, things have not gone too well for Snell during the regular season either. Not only has his scoring average dropped to 3.3 points per game, his rebounding (1.3), assists (0.2) and blocks (0.1) are lower than the per-game totals he registered from a year ago.
To make matters worse, Snell is slowly losing his place in the rotation, as Thibodeau has given more playing time to McDermott and Nikola Mirotic, who are averaging 15.7 and 12.6 minutes per contest respectively.
Coming into the season, I predicted that Snell would be an integral part of Chicago’ s bench unit. But so far, that has yet to be the case.
And if both McDermott and Mirotic prove they can play well with the minutes they are getting right now, it is quite possible that Snell may become the odd man out.
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