1) Chicago Bulls players surpassing expectations in first half
Thaddeus Young, Forward
If there was going to be a Most Improved Player of the year award handed out to one Bulls player this season, at this point in time it would go to their veteran 6-foot-8 and 235 pound 32-year-old forward Thaddeus Young. There are parts of Young’s game that are also getting taken to a new level at this point of the season, especially with the way he’s distributing the ball.
Donovan seems to be a great fit as a head coach for Young. He’s especially used Young in a much more efficient manner off the bench than former Bulls head coach Jim Boylen did as a starter, or as a role player off the bench last year. Young is down the number of starts he had last season, compared to this year so far, but his minutes on the floor per game (roughly 25) is up.
As likely the most stabilizing veteran force off the bench for the Bulls so far this season, and one of their most efficient players overall, Young is a very valuable piece of their current roster at hand. He’s played in 26 games for the Bulls so far this season, although he has no starts at this point.
Young has averaged 11.9 points per game, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks. And he’s shot 59.8 percent from the field, 22.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 48.8 percent from the free-throw line.
A lot of the counting stats and advanced metrics for Young at this point of the season are also good for career bests for their 13 year vet. He’s registered a career-best 3.0 box plus/minus rating, .169 win shares per 48 minutes (very close to a career best), 2.5 total win shares, 60.4 true shooting percentage, 121 offensive rating/110 defensive rating, and a 20.2 player efficiency rating.