Matas Progress Tracker

[Chi town]

He will naturally add weight as he ages and fills in.

I think he will add some muscle and really take off next season. His rebounding and FTs should both take off.

[dougthonus]

His swing attributes were going to be his shooting and getting stronger.

So far, the shooting seems to be there. Excited what he does with an off season to work on the strength.

Hopefully he doesn't do what Lauri and Ayo did. Both guys looked like they lost quickness that hurt their prior advantages.

I think this concern is overstated. The vast majority of players add a ton of muscle after they enter the league. Jordan, LeBron, Kobe, Durant are some pretty famous examples of guys that added 20 lbs of muscle and didn't become slow all of a sudden.

I don't think he should try to bulk up into being a muscle bound player that utilizes his strength as a primary weapon, but he could add 10lbs and still be one of the skinniest guys in the league at his height.

[Ice Man]

He's a true prospect. I was somewhat skeptical in the first half of the season, because we (as with all fans) constantly overhype our rookies, and although Matas looked fluid and with skills, he was a rottenl NBA player. But he's figuring things out rapidly and is already not rotten. I can envision him being outright good, which is the first time I have thought that about a Bulls rookie since we had Laurie.

[DASMACKDOWN]

He will naturally add weight as he ages and fills in.

I think he will add some muscle and really take off next season. His rebounding and FTs should both take off.

Yes Matas just needs grown man strength. Unless you are a center, you shouldn't be trying to get big and bulky.

Matas advantage is his height, athleticism and ball handling. The only thing that has to catch up is his strength. But he needs to be on the Jayson Tatum, KD strength regime instead of the Bulls Lauri regime.

[DuckIII]

I don’t get this “don’t add strength thing.” He clearly needs it. He gets bumped off position offensively and defensively all the time. And at his low weight adding 10 or hell even 25 lbs of muscle over the next few years is not going to slow him down or cause him to lose explosiveness. Moreover, Matas LIKES to attack contact. He needs the strength to take full advantage of his own style of play.

Look at Giannis as just one example of many among NBA players who grew in strength and weight while sacrificing nothing.

Complete sidenote and I realize the scenarios are vastly different but the principle is the same. My 17 year old was thin but strong and a plus run/jump athlete. He spent the last two years working out gaining muscle for basketball. It has enhanced his explosiveness and quickness to significant degrees, limiting him not in the least. He hasn’t grown an inch but is now dunking it off the dribble at regular playing speeds at only 5’11. That significant change is due to the weight room. Prior to that he was grazing the bottom of the rim.

Add muscle Matas. And not just a little bit.

[DASMACKDOWN]

Add muscle Matas. And not just a little bit.

I think it really goes to actual body types though. I think Matas is going to add strength more like Dalen Terry than Lauri. Dalen was a twig as well. But now he is clearly much stronger even though he looks somewhat the same.

So yeah Matas go ahead and put on muscle.

Matas at 220 would be fantastic.

[Andi Obst]

Complete sidenote and I realize the scenarios are vastly different but the principle is the same. My 17 year old was thin but strong and a plus run/jump athlete. He spent the last two years working out gaining muscle for basketball. It has enhanced his explosiveness and quickness to significant degrees, limiting him not in the least. He hasn’t grown an inch but is now dunking it off the dribble at regular playing speeds at only 5’11. That significant change is due to the weight room. Prior to that he was grazing the bottom of the rim.

Sounds like the Bulls need your son tbh.

[jnrjr79]

I don’t get this “don’t add strength thing.” He clearly needs it. He gets bumped off position offensively and defensively all the time. And at his low weight adding 10 or hell even 25 lbs of muscle over the next few years is not going to slow him down or cause him to lose explosiveness. Moreover, Matas LIKES to attack contact. He needs the strength to take full advantage of his own style of play.

Look at Giannis as just one example of many among NBA players who grew in strength and weight while sacrificing nothing.

Complete sidenote and I realize the scenarios are vastly different but the principle is the same. My 17 year old was thin but strong and a plus run/jump athlete. He spent the last two years working out gaining muscle for basketball. It has enhanced his explosiveness and quickness to significant degrees, limiting him not in the least. He hasn’t grown an inch but is now dunking it off the dribble at regular playing speeds at only 5’11. That significant change is due to the weight room. Prior to that he was grazing the bottom of the rim.

Add muscle Matas. And not just a little bit.

A related thing I don't understand is when people say "he doesn't need to gain weight, he just needs to add strength." Unless you've got excess fat to burn, you can't really add any significant muscle without the weight associated with that muscle gain.

[cocktailswith_2short]

He has years to fill out that huge frame.If I was him I'd want to get stronger but do it naturally .

[DuckIII]

Complete sidenote and I realize the scenarios are vastly different but the principle is the same. My 17 year old was thin but strong and a plus run/jump athlete. He spent the last two years working out gaining muscle for basketball. It has enhanced his explosiveness and quickness to significant degrees, limiting him not in the least. He hasn’t grown an inch but is now dunking it off the dribble at regular playing speeds at only 5’11. That significant change is due to the weight room. Prior to that he was grazing the bottom of the rim.

Sounds like the Bulls need your son tbh.

He shoots wide open 19 foot 3 pointers at about a 20% clip. Still interested?

[jnrjr79]

Complete sidenote and I realize the scenarios are vastly different but the principle is the same. My 17 year old was thin but strong and a plus run/jump athlete. He spent the last two years working out gaining muscle for basketball. It has enhanced his explosiveness and quickness to significant degrees, limiting him not in the least. He hasn’t grown an inch but is now dunking it off the dribble at regular playing speeds at only 5’11. That significant change is due to the weight room. Prior to that he was grazing the bottom of the rim.

Sounds like the Bulls need your son tbh.

He shoots wide open 19 foot 3 pointers at about a 20% clip. Still interested?

Sounds like a pretty good addition to the tank. Will he sign for a vet minimum?

[Jcool0]

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[DASMACKDOWN]

Nice something for me to watch today afterall.

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[kodo]

Very fitting he's the only Bull selected to show up to AS weekend. Will probably be the case for a very long time.

[sco]

Nice something for me to watch today afterall.

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Meh, a substitute...it almost feels worse than him not getting picked.

[SirKaiser]

Rookie playing in the skills challenge and dunk competition? I mean, I'll take it. I'm sure he's thrilled too and this is nothing but a confidence booster for the kid.

[sco]

Rookie playing in the skills challenge and dunk competition? I mean, I'll take it. I'm sure he's thrilled too and this is nothing but a confidence booster for the kid.

I like the kid. I sorta feel bad for him though. Because he is the first "good pick" we've had in forever, I feel like we are pinning too much by way of expectations on him. Realistically, if he turns into say the 15th best starting PF in the league, we should be happy to get that with the 11th pick, but if he isn't on the cusp of being an allstar by year 4, he'll be deem a bust.

[t-time]

Matas getting that ‘free money’ this weekend

[kodo]

Best dunk of the night so far.

[Jcool0]

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