Chicago Bulls Reserve Tony Snell Deserves Playoff Minutes

Bulls forward Tony Snell has had a difficult time establishing a consistent role in the rotation of the Chicago Bulls this season. He has been fortunate because the litany of injuries across the entirety of the roster has afforded him the opportunity to show the coaches that he is a valuable piece to this team. The extent to which Tom Thibodeau sees the value in Snell’s body of work during the course of the season will determine if he gets a spot in the rotation come playoff time.

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Snell has been inconsistent this season, and this is directly correlated with the inconsistent minutes that he has been given by Coach Thibodeau. In typical fashion, the fifth-year head coach has been stubborn with the amount of players he has trusted enough to give consistent minutes. Oftentimes, playing time isn’t directly determined by quality of play, but rather by mutual trust built between that particular player and coach Thibodeau over years of coexisting together. The poster-child of this phenomenon is Kirk Hinrich. However, despite the fact that Tony Snell has proven to be a good NBA defender, the second-year player isn’t among the guys that Thibodeau has total trust in, and his playing time has taken a hit as a result.

Apr 9, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau yells during the second half against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Here are some interesting statistics courtesy of ESPN to hammer home the point that Snell plays best when he gets consistent minutes.

November: 9.4 minutes per game, 1.6 field goal attempts per game, 47% field goal percentage, 2.2 points per game

December: 5.8 minutes per game, 1.2 field goal attempts per game, 21% field goal percentage, 0.8 points per game

February: 29.7 minutes per game, 8.8 field goal attempts per game, 58% field goal percentage, 13.6 points per game

March: 32.1 minutes per game, 8.3 field goal attempts per game, 39% field goal percentage, 9.4 points per game

After recording the best two months of his season statistically, Snell was rewarded with a reduction in minutes. Check out what happened as a result.

April: 15.1 minutes per game, 4.1 field goal attempts per game, 34% field goal percentage, 3.9 points per game

Analysis: The biggest thing with these statistics is how low the field goal attempts per game number is when he doesn’t get minutes. This shows that the inconsistency has rocked Snell’s confidence at times, also producing the result of less consistent scoring. He is a rhythm shooter that thrives off of consistency. As he gets more playing time, he tends to be more aggressive towards the basket which has also helped his shooting percentages and points per game statistics during months in which he has seen significant playing time. Most importantly, these statistics clearly show that, if given an opportunity, Snell will help this team be successful in the playoffs. There really isn’t a justifiable excuse for Thibodeau to refuse playing Tony come playoff time.

Mar 28, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Tony Snell (20) drives past New York Knicks forward

Lance Thomas

(42) during the second half at the United Center. Chicago won 111-80. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

The question of whether he still gets minutes in this series is dependent on a larger more overarching question. Will Tom Thibodeau expand his rotation in the playoffs and utilize the entirety of his very deep and talented roster? There are minutes available for Snell; however, if Tony gets more minutes in the playoffs, Jimmy Butler and Mike Dunleavy wouldn’t be able to play 35-40+ minutes per game. Ultimately, that could be a good thing, affording the two starters a rest while giving a very capable backup the opportunity to come in and play productive minutes. However, is this what Tom Thibodeau wants? It is the old coach who is stubborn to a fault that decides the rotation for the playoffs.

The depth of the Bulls’ bench is perhaps their greatest asset come playoff time. As other teams tire during the course of a game, the Bulls can bring in fresh bodies to continue to wear down opponents. The Bulls can realistically go with an eleven-man rotation that includes the five starters, Gibson, Moore, Hinrich, Mirotic, Snell, Brooks and Mirotic without sacrificing quality for quantity. There isn’t any reason why Thibodeau can’t count on all eleven guys to give him consistently quality minutes.

Mar 23, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward

Nikola Mirotic

(44) and forward

Taj Gibson

(22) celebrate at the end of their NBA game against the Charlotte Hornets at United Center. Bulls won 98-86. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Tom Thibodeau’s reluctance to give Tony Snell consistent playing time may have ramifications beyond the playoffs this season. Snell is one of the Bulls’ youngest players and has a bright future ahead of him if he continues to improve at his current rate. However, is Thibodeau stunting the development of Tony by refusing to give him consistent minutes? This lack of consistency has definitely impacted his play at times this season. But what about long term?

In order to explore this question, it seems logical to compare Snell’s career trajectory to the one of Jimmy Butler. Both players are highly talented wings that originally made a name for themselves on the defensive side of the ball. Here are the statistics from the second season of both players.

MIN

FGM-A

FG%

3PM-A

3P%

FTM-A

FT%

REB

AST

BLK

STL

PTS

26.0

2.9-6.2

.467

0.5-1.3

.381

2.3-2.8

.803

1.7

2.3

4.0

1.4

0.4

1.0

1.2

0.8

8.6

19.5

2.2-5.1

.430

1.0-2.7

.378

0.6-0.8

.796

0.4

2.0

2.4

0.9

0.1

0.5

1.2

0.7

6.1

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Jimmy Butler had the benefit of playing more because he was on a less talented Bulls team his second year than Tony Snell was on this season. Tony Snell, who is arguably less of a talent than Butler, has produced statistics that stack up fairly nicely against the stats of Jimmy. This leads me to conclude that Tom Thibodeau hasn’t stunted Snell’s development…..yet. The inconsistency is ridiculous and it has negatively impacted his play, however, he has been given enough playing time quantity wise across the entire season to allow him to progress as a player.

Snell’s growth will be stunted if Thibodeau refuses to play him in the playoffs. Giving young, capable players an opportunity to experience the playoffs firsthand will be critical towards determining his playoff performances in the future. Snell is one of the young players on this team that probably isn’t going anywhere, and so it will be in the Bulls’ best interest to give him an opportunity now so he is really ready later.

The Chicago Bulls face the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 2015 NBA playoffs. Do you think that Tony Snell has earned significant (15+ minutes) playing time in the playoffs? Let us know below.

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