Can Chicago Bulls forward Tony Snell finally turn things around following an impressive outing against the Toronto Raptors?
When the Chicago Bulls drafted Tony Snell at the No. 20 spot in the 2013 draft, the hope was that he would add some much-needed outside shooting to an offense that was ranked near the bottom of the league.
Although Snell has shown glimpses of potential during his time in the Windy City, the issue is that he has not played well on a consistent basis, something vice president John Paxson readily admitted during the team’s recent three-game losing streak.
"“We’ve given Tony Snell an opportunity”, Paxson told the Chicago Tribune. “And Tony has had a few moments but to be very candid, he has needed to play better and with some more consistency. That’s not been the case. As you saw the last game, Fred went with a little different lineup and Tony didn’t even play. Young guys need to take advantage of their opportunities. We need Tony to step up and do that on occasion.”"
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In 27 appearances this season, Snell is averaging 6.1 points and 3.6 rebounds while converting just 36.5 percent of his shot attempts. And while he is shooting a respectable 42 percent from three point range, his inability to string together solid performances continues to be an issue.
How bad have things been for the third-year forward? Well, dating back to Chicago’s 105-100 loss to the Boston Celtics three weeks ago, Snell began a seven-game stretch in which he shot 30 percent from the field.
And as a result of his lack of production, Snell was removed from the rotation in favor of Doug McDermott, and he did not see any floor time in two of the previous three games.
However, when McDermott was a late scratch (knee soreness) against in the Toronto Raptors, Snell stepped up in a big way to say the least. Yes, his 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting was impressive, considering it was the first time he topped the 20-point plateau this season.
What was even more impressive was the timeliness of those points. With the veterans sitting on the bench for most of the fourth quarter, Snell scored 16 of his 22 points in the final frame.
Not only was he hitting the outside shot (4-for-5 from distance), Snell also had a few nice finishes around the rim as well, something that Bulls fans don’t see enough of. And Snell’s confidence was something that didn’t go unnoticed by Derrick Rose.
"“Just played aggressive, man,” Rose told ESPN. “Making the right move, attacking, not thinking that much and you could tell the offense made him shoot so we was just happy that he took the shots that he took and he hit a majority of them.”"
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Hopefully, for both Snell and the Bulls, his recent outing will be a sign of things to come rather than a one-game aberration. Because this Bulls team has a different look to it when Snell is looking for his offense instead of deferring to his teammates.