Matas Progress Tracker

[Jcool0]

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[DASMACKDOWN]

Man if Matas can keep shooting his 3s at 37-38% its going to be tremendous for the team.

The thing that is an advantage is that he is a big target. Its like easy to find him for the 3 or the break. And he played it to perfection last night.

I do like what Billy has done with Matas in the absence of PWill.

But I still worry when PWill returns. No one wants to ice Matas and lose all the momentum he has in favor of more PWill.

AKME has to help Billy help himself. A move needs to be made with Vooch and Zach or whomever.

[Jstock12]

Man if Matas can keep shooting his 3s at 37-38% its going to be tremendous for the team.

The thing that is an advantage is that he is a big target. Its like easy to find him for the 3 or the break. And he played it to perfection last night.

I do like what Billy has done with Matas in the absence of PWill.

But I still worry when PWill returns. No one wants to ice Matas and lose all the momentum he has in favor of more PWill.

AKME has to help Billy help himself. A move needs to be made with Vooch and Zach or whomever.

Not moving Vuc would be a malpractice. He's the best positive value trade chip the Bulls have. The way he's playing, many teams will be fighting for him. I hope AKME can maximize the return. Zach on the other hand... As well as he's been playing, that contract is...

Regarding Matas, he's so coordinated and such a fluid athlete. He'll be something in this league. If he got drafted by the Hawks and was force fed minutes (regardless of performance) like Risacher was, we'd already be talking about Matas as a ROTY.

[dougthonus]

Man if Matas can keep shooting his 3s at 37-38% its going to be tremendous for the team.

The thing that is an advantage is that he is a big target. Its like easy to find him for the 3 or the break. And he played it to perfection last night.

I do like what Billy has done with Matas in the absence of PWill.

But I still worry when PWill returns. No one wants to ice Matas and lose all the momentum he has in favor of more PWill.

AKME has to help Billy help himself. A move needs to be made with Vooch and Zach or whomever.

This team is bad, there's no reason you need to move anyone to play Matas. Every minute Philips plays could go to Matas instead. I'm certainly not opposed to trading a single player on this roster, but you should make the best trades at the best times vs worrying about how the existence of a better player on the roster may impact Matas.

As an example, if we could move Vuc for a single 2nd rounder now, but could get a late 1st for him in 2 months, I'd rather wait the 2 months even if this impacted Matas's playing time for two months. Obviously, it is unknowable how trade value will change over time, but I wouldn't rush a bad trade to open up minutes that's all, and good trades usually happen closer to the deadline when there is time pressure.

[sco]

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What I liked about what I saw was his ability get to the rim off the dribble in traffic and finish without losing the ball. Also, his patience when he pump faked twice to have 2 opponents fly by and then dunk on the other side of the rim...vet move!

A bigger surprise has been his defense and ability to guard 1-5 well. I'm still wanting him to not gain much weight. I think his quickness and fluidity are bigger assets than adding too much muscle weight. His game is not a back to the basket game, which is a good thing.

His 3 point shot form still looks inconsistent (which I don't see as sustainable at 35%)...he doesn't start with his feet in a consistent position, he still starts his stroke with the ball down by his waist, and he jumps too high before releasing for a 6'10 guy. That said, his confidence is high and he doesn't hesistate, which is a positive.

[Jcool0]

Man if Matas can keep shooting his 3s at 37-38% its going to be tremendous for the team.

The thing that is an advantage is that he is a big target. Its like easy to find him for the 3 or the break. And he played it to perfection last night.

I do like what Billy has done with Matas in the absence of PWill.

But I still worry when PWill returns. No one wants to ice Matas and lose all the momentum he has in favor of more PWill.

AKME has to help Billy help himself. A move needs to be made with Vooch and Zach or whomever.

As a 6'10" +athlete, If he is a 36%+ 3Pt shooter with his aggressiveness and able to create his own shot + good defense. Bulls are looking at a foundational piece.

[FriedRise]

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What I liked about what I saw was his ability get to the rim off the dribble in traffic and finish without losing the ball. Also, his patience when he pump faked twice to have 2 opponents fly by and then dunk on the other side of the rim...vet move!

A bigger surprise has been his defense and ability to guard 1-5 well. I'm still wanting him to not gain much weight. I think his quickness and fluidity are bigger assets than adding too much muscle weight. His game is not a back to the basket game, which is a good thing.

His 3 point shot form still looks inconsistent (which I don't see as sustainable at 35%)...he doesn't start with his feet in a consistent position, he still starts his stroke with the ball down by his waist, and he jumps too high before releasing for a 6'10 guy. That said, his confidence is high and he doesn't hesistate, which is a positive.

Yeah his handles have always jumped out at me for a player that size. I think I made the comparison in the summer, but he reminds me of Lauri a bit - perhaps a more defensive-minded but less lethal 3pt shooter type. Both play more like a really tall wing.

I thought his shooting form looks fine when he's set. Right now defenses aren't really paying attention to him much so those shots are mostly open, so the test obviously will be what will he look like once he starts getting scouted (though probably won't happen until at least next year with his very sporadic playing time).

Another thing that also impresses me: he's second on the team in terms of made dunks (9) behind only Zach (17). Matas has played 190 fewer total minutes compared to Pat, who's only made 2 dunks all season lmao. Yeah, the kid is aggressive and he doesn't miss his dunks.

[DASMACKDOWN]

This team is bad, there's no reason you need to move anyone to play Matas. Every minute Philips plays could go to Matas instead. I'm certainly not opposed to trading a single player on this roster, but you should make the best trades at the best times vs worrying about how the existence of a better player on the roster may impact Matas.

Sure I agree. I guess for ne, Matas isn't my real concern. My concern is keeping the draft pick. I think people are really selling our pace and shooting short here.

The shooting and pace will skew our win total. Sure we are bad, but a hot shooting night and beating a good team can be the difference between pick 10 or 11.

I think if we played exactly the same as last year and just added Giddey, we probably are like a 5 win team. But with a new offense, we are a 9 win team. We are beating the stats right now.

I just want to ensure the youth and the pick. So the sooner guys like Vooch are gone, the better.

The last thing I want is our backs up against the wall realizing we have won too many games and the other bad teams have serious injuries.

We are in position 10 right now.

[sco]

This team is bad, there's no reason you need to move anyone to play Matas. Every minute Philips plays could go to Matas instead. I'm certainly not opposed to trading a single player on this roster, but you should make the best trades at the best times vs worrying about how the existence of a better player on the roster may impact Matas.

Sure I agree. I guess for ne, Matas isn't my real concern. My concern is keeping the draft pick. I think people are really selling our pace and shooting short here.

The shooting and pace will skew our win total. Sure we are bad, but a hot shooting night and beating a good team can be the difference between pick 10 or 11.

I think if we played exactly the same as last year and just added Giddey, we probably are like a 5 win team. But with a new offense, we are a 9 win team. We are beating the stats right now.

I just want to ensure the youth and the pick. So the sooner guys like Vooch are gone, the better.

The last thing I want is our backs up against the wall realizing we have won too many games and the other bad teams have serious injuries.

We are in position 10 right now.

It is clear that Vuc and Zach are putting a damper on our chances to keep our pick. I think Vuc will be gone by the deadline, and Zach will be here until the end of the season (due to his $ contract).

[Jello Biafra]

Matas strenghths are that he is an athletic big who can rim run and protect the rim. His weakness is 3 point shooting. So of course, Billy uniformly makes him do what he is worst at, run to the corner and be a spot shooter. Did the same to Ayo, whose strength is dribble penetration and playmaking.

[dougthonus]

This team is bad, there's no reason you need to move anyone to play Matas. Every minute Philips plays could go to Matas instead. I'm certainly not opposed to trading a single player on this roster, but you should make the best trades at the best times vs worrying about how the existence of a better player on the roster may impact Matas.

Sure I agree. I guess for ne, Matas isn't my real concern. My concern is keeping the draft pick. I think people are really selling our pace and shooting short here.

The shooting and pace will skew our win total. Sure we are bad, but a hot shooting night and beating a good team can be the difference between pick 10 or 11.

I think if we played exactly the same as last year and just added Giddey, we probably are like a 5 win team. But with a new offense, we are a 9 win team. We are beating the stats right now.

I just want to ensure the youth and the pick. So the sooner guys like Vooch are gone, the better.

The last thing I want is our backs up against the wall realizing we have won too many games and the other bad teams have serious injuries.

We are in position 10 right now.

That's sort of a different discussion all together, but I think if we could, we'd make the playoffs. I don't think we'd care about the pick. To some degree, I think that's also correct thinking unless you are going to be bad enough to compete for high move-up odds in the lottery (bottom 6-7ish teams). While we certainly could move up from any spot, if we end up with pick #10, I doubt it is likely to move the needle much in the future.

[drosestruts]

Less flashy - but Matas also finished last night with 0 turnovers and only 2 fouls.

It was just two games ago against Orlando is a similar amount on time he fouled out and committed 2 turnovers.

The 3's, Dunks, and Blocks are obviously going to be what makes the highlight reel.

Every rookie seems to struggle with fouls to some degree. It's great to see him still getting blocks while limiting those fouls.

[sco]

Less flashy - but Matas also finished last night with 0 turnovers and only 2 fouls.

It was just two games ago against Orlando is a similar amount on time he fouled out and committed 2 turnovers.

The 3's, Dunks, and Blocks are obviously going to be what makes the highlight reel.

Every rookie seems to struggle with fouls to some degree. It's great to see him still getting blocks while limiting those fouls.

Yeah, I don't care about the fouls this season. Most rookies receive less leeway on call from refs and there's an adjustment period to the NBA. Rather have him be overly aggressive and have him learn what he can't do, than the other way around.

[Stratmaster]

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What I liked about what I saw was his ability get to the rim off the dribble in traffic and finish without losing the ball. Also, his patience when he pump faked twice to have 2 opponents fly by and then dunk on the other side of the rim...vet move!

A bigger surprise has been his defense and ability to guard 1-5 well. I'm still wanting him to not gain much weight. I think his quickness and fluidity are bigger assets than adding too much muscle weight. His game is not a back to the basket game, which is a good thing.

His 3 point shot form still looks inconsistent (which I don't see as sustainable at 35%)...he doesn't start with his feet in a consistent position, he still starts his stroke with the ball down by his waist, and he jumps too high before releasing for a 6'10 guy. That said, his confidence is high and he doesn't hesistate, which is a positive.

His activity and confidence alone are an improvement over the wallflower.

Matas at least wants to be great and believes he can be.

[cocktailswith_2short]

I will say it again we were very lucky he fell to 11 . This franchise has had terrible luck with lottery picks lately and the gods may have shown us some mercy for a change.

[GoBlue72391]

Matas strenghths are that he is an athletic big who can rim run and protect the rim. His weakness is 3 point shooting. So of course, Billy uniformly makes him do what he is worst at, run to the corner and be a spot shooter. Did the same to Ayo, whose strength is dribble penetration and playmaking.

I don't think he's a big at all. He's pretty clearly a wing with the height of a big. His ceiling is like a mix between Andrei Kirilenko and Lauri IMO, but worse defense than AK47 and worse offense than Lauri, but still pretty good at both.

[Muzbar]

Matas strenghths are that he is an athletic big who can rim run and protect the rim. His weakness is 3 point shooting. So of course, Billy uniformly makes him do what he is worst at, run to the corner and be a spot shooter. Did the same to Ayo, whose strength is dribble penetration and playmaking.

I don't think he's a big at all. He's pretty clearly a wing with the height of a big. His ceiling is like a mix between Andrei Kirilenko and Lauri IMO, but worse defense than AK47 and worse offense than Lauri, but still pretty good at both.

I think he's a modern 'big', as in a wing that plays the PF position, having the height certainly helps. He's definitely a combo forward either way I think.

[Jello Biafra]

Matas strenghths are that he is an athletic big who can rim run and protect the rim. His weakness is 3 point shooting. So of course, Billy uniformly makes him do what he is worst at, run to the corner and be a spot shooter. Did the same to Ayo, whose strength is dribble penetration and playmaking.

I don't think he's a big at all. He's pretty clearly a wing with the height of a big. His ceiling is like a mix between Andrei Kirilenko and Lauri IMO, but worse defense than AK47 and worse offense than Lauri, but still pretty good at both.

I guess it comes down to "What is a Big in the modern NBA?" When I watch a Bulls game, no matter what lineup, I see 4 wings and a center who plays behind the three point line. I guess my definition of a big is someone usually 6'8" or taller who can score and defend in the lane and at the rim, protect the rim, rebound at a high rate and block shots. If they are skilled it's a bonus. They can be thin and still be effective. Look at Chet Holmgren. I call him a big. Durant? Maybe not. But for me, Lauri and AK47 are bigs. I see more of a mini Holmgren in Matas than either of those.

[cocktailswith_2short]

He definitely plays like a wing . Has slashing ability and quick . His tremendous size is better suited for wing play as well .

[eierluke]

Looking for the draft pick is one thing, OK.
But looking for what is best for Matas: we should keep Vuc. Vuc ain't Jokic but still is a "team1st" bigman role model for learning how to pass the ball.