Chicago Bulls’ biggest disappointments from the first half: Matt Thomas
At this point of the season, there have to be some Bulls fans that are really just surprised that the former Iowa State Cyclones sharpshooting guard/wing Matt Thomas is still on this roster. The lack of an impact that Thomas was able to make for the Bulls out of the gates this season was apparent. And there were some players that were let go by the Bulls so far this season that many would argue (including myself) that should’ve been kept over Thomas.
One of those that the Bulls let go of during the holiday weekend is one that I personally would’ve liked to see the team hang onto instead of Thomas. And that was the second-year former Kansas Jayhawks point guard Devon Dotson.
Thomas played in 19 games through the regular season slate so far for the Bulls. His minutes picking up in the last three games is a major reason why Thomas is now averaging just shy of a dozen minutes on the floor per game in the 19 games he’s actually played in.
In that span, Thomas has averaged around four points per game, one rebound, and 0.5 assists.
Really the only positive I could find for Thomas through the first half of the regular season was his shooting numbers picking up from deep. Thomas did find his stroke from beyond the arc of late, brigning his three-point shooting percentage up around 39.
You can just look at the advanced metrics to find the lack of an impact that Thomas made for the Bulls through the first half of the regular season. He ranks in the bottom three on the team in box plus/minus (-2.9), win shares (0.2), and value over replacement player (-0.1), among eligible players.