Matas Progress Tracker

[NecessaryEvil]

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[WindyCityBorn]

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Buzelis is basically untouchable.

[Mbrahv0528]

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There's no universe he's traded.

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[WesPeace]

Yeah he should be untouchable and I think he is,
AK - Matas Lithuanian connection is luckily here.

Whoever we draft he better not be PF! We need Matas playing starting PF and playing 30min per game with bench players like Phillips, Smith, PWill behind him.. even tho PWill should get back to SF next season.

[CROBulls]

Yeah he should be untouchable and I think he is,
AK - Matas Lithuanian connection is luckily here.

Whoever we draft he better not be PF! We need Matas playing starting PF and playing 30min per game with bench players like Phillips, Smith, PWill behind him.. even tho PWill should get back to SF next season.

Matas is not PF. And I will stick with that till he is 29

[Dez]

Yeah he should be untouchable and I think he is,
AK - Matas Lithuanian connection is luckily here.

Whoever we draft he better not be PF! We need Matas playing starting PF and playing 30min per game with bench players like Phillips, Smith, PWill behind him.. even tho PWill should get back to SF next season.

Matas is not PF. And I will stick with that till he is 29

He's a 4 that can play the 3 but he's definitely a 4.

[CROBulls]

Yeah he should be untouchable and I think he is,
AK - Matas Lithuanian connection is luckily here.

Whoever we draft he better not be PF! We need Matas playing starting PF and playing 30min per game with bench players like Phillips, Smith, PWill behind him.. even tho PWill should get back to SF next season.

Matas is not PF. And I will stick with that till he is 29

He's a 4 that can play the 3 but he's definitely a 4.

We leading same discussion what Nowitzki went through. He is a 3 with skillset of (defending at) 4. Let him have long career, take advantage of his youth and improving his skillset at 3 and when he adds weight more muscle get stronger (likely bit slower with age) let him naturally become full 4.

[Dez]

Matas is not PF. And I will stick with that till he is 29

He's a 4 that can play the 3 but he's definitely a 4.

We leading same discussion what Nowitzki went through. He is a 3 with skillset of (defending at) 4. Let him have long career, take advantage of his youth and improving his skillset at 3 and when he adds weight more muscle get stronger let him naturally become full 4.

Or continue to play him at the 4 and continue his positive development where his rim protection is valuable especially on this team that doesn't have any other shot-blockers.

[CROBulls]

He's a 4 that can play the 3 but he's definitely a 4.

We leading same discussion what Nowitzki went through. He is a 3 with skillset of (defending at) 4. Let him have long career, take advantage of his youth and improving his skillset at 3 and when he adds weight more muscle get stronger let him naturally become full 4.

Or continue to play him at the 4 and continue his positive development where his rim protection is valuable especially on this team that doesn't have any other shot-blockers.

I am not ruining another young man for GM's faults. Thats on you if it leads to becoming injury bitten.

[Dez]

We leading same discussion what Nowitzki went through. He is a 3 with skillset of (defending at) 4. Let him have long career, take advantage of his youth and improving his skillset at 3 and when he adds weight more muscle get stronger let him naturally become full 4.

Or continue to play him at the 4 and continue his positive development where his rim protection is valuable especially on this team that doesn't have any other shot-blockers.

I am not ruining another young man for GM's faults. Thats on you if it leads to becoming injury bitten.

Playing him at the 4 won't ruin him and it's didn't ruin Williams, his issues are completely irrelevant to his position.

[CROBulls]

Or continue to play him at the 4 and continue his positive development where his rim protection is valuable especially on this team that doesn't have any other shot-blockers.

I am not ruining another young man for GM's faults. Thats on you if it leads to becoming injury bitten.

Playing him at the 4 won't ruin him and it's didn't ruin Williams, his issues are completely irrelevant to his position.

It ruined Lauri here.

[Jstock12]

You are what you defend. And I think Buzelis has good enough footwork and lateral speed to be able to defend the 3, and has enough length to defend the 4s. People shouldn't be stuck in the mindset of assigning a player to a single number, especially in the modern era. It should depend on matchups, on a nightly basis. Ideally using Matas on slower SFs and smaller PFs. I just hope they don't try to forcefully bulk him up, but let him fill into his frame naturally over time.

[Jcool0]

Or continue to play him at the 4 and continue his positive development where his rim protection is valuable especially on this team that doesn't have any other shot-blockers.

I am not ruining another young man for GM's faults. Thats on you if it leads to becoming injury bitten.

Playing him at the 4 won't ruin him and it's didn't ruin Williams, his issues are completely irrelevant to his position.

He was a SF in high school & a SF in the G League... But you want to have him be a PF because he blocks shot? He is around 200lbs right now, do you want him gaining 30lbs? He also just has 15 rebounds in his last 5 games.

[WesPeace]

Matas is not PF. And I will stick with that till he is 29

He's a 4 that can play the 3 but he's definitely a 4.

We leading same discussion what Nowitzki went through. He is a 3 with skillset of (defending at) 4. Let him have long career, take advantage of his youth and improving his skillset at 3 and when he adds weight more muscle get stronger (likely bit slower with age) let him naturally become full 4.

Bro, you dont play a guy with his size and natural instincts for blocks and rebounds at 3.. he is PF now and will be going forward when he gains even more muscle. But he shouldnt bulk up too much anyway, just enough to defend easier vs other PF or occasional SF. His footwork is good, but many SF are still too quick for him.

Thats why Bulls are playing him at PF already?!? Why are we even talking about this,its clear like sunnyday.

Its similar **** we had with PWill, he should stay at 3, SF.. not bulk up and be a slow nonblocking,no rebounding stiff PF

[sco]

He's a 4 that can play the 3 but he's definitely a 4.

We leading same discussion what Nowitzki went through. He is a 3 with skillset of (defending at) 4. Let him have long career, take advantage of his youth and improving his skillset at 3 and when he adds weight more muscle get stronger (likely bit slower with age) let him naturally become full 4.

Bro, you dont play a guy with his size and natural instincts for blocks and rebounds at 3.. he is PF now and will be going forward when he gains even more muscle. But he shouldnt bulk up too much anyway, just enough to defend easier vs other PF or occasional SF. His footwork is good, but many SF are still too quick for him.

Thats why Bulls are playing him at PF already?!? Why are we even talking about this,its clear like sunnyday.

Its similar **** we had with PWill, he should stay at 3, SF.. not bulk up and be a slow nonblocking,no rebounding stiff PF

Position aside, Matas' key strength is his quickness. Just keep him lean and quick. As long as this team learned from the Lauri mistake, he'll be ok at either position. I don't see him getting blown by by 3's and I don't see him getting abused by 4's.

Right now he and Giddey are pretty interchangeable at the 3/4.

[NecessaryEvil]

Matas @ 4
P Will @ 3

Pat has untapped potential as a playmaking SF. I’d continue to let him tap into that off the bench.

[ShouldaPaidBG]

He's our most talented player since D Rose

[CROBulls]

Matas @ 4
P Will @ 3

Pat has untapped potential as a playmaking SF. I’d continue to let him tap into that off the bench.

Yes, please. If possible as 15th player on a team.

[sco]

Matas @ 4
P Will @ 3

Pat has untapped potential as a playmaking SF. I’d continue to let him tap into that off the bench.

Yes, please. If possible as 15th player on a team.

I'm somewhere in the middle. IMO, the problem with Pat is that he doesn't have the handles to be given any playmaking responsibility (or even dribble in general as part of his game). I would be thrilled if we sent him to Johnny-dribbles-a-lot this summer...dude did wonders for Coby (and I think helped Terry too).

Beyond Pat's lack of handles, he lacks blow-by ability. He also lacks the ability to score at the rim, like at all. IMO, that is too long of a list to fix in one offseason. I'd be happy if he can learn to play a simpler offensive role now that we don't need him to develop into a star. If he could just focus on taking 3's and the occasional mid-range J's, where he has proven he can be reasonably efficient.

Couple that with competent defense, and you've got a competent 22MPG player. That isn't worth $18M, but he goes from being a liability when he's on the floor, to becoming an asset, and I'd be ok with that.

[League Circles]

Matas is not PF. And I will stick with that till he is 29

He's a 4 that can play the 3 but he's definitely a 4.

We leading same discussion what Nowitzki went through. He is a 3 with skillset of (defending at) 4. Let him have long career, take advantage of his youth and improving his skillset at 3 and when he adds weight more muscle get stronger (likely bit slower with age) let him naturally become full 4.

There is a huge difference. Dirk was basically a 4 on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he was never nearly as quick or even as good at ball handling as Matas. People remember Dirk as some big three point shooter but he actually did most of his work inside the arc, tons of mid range jumpers. Defensively he was atrocious at any position, just most easily "hid" at the 4.

Matas, on the other hand, has both the offensive and defensive skills necessary to play either position, but since he has such good shot blocking instincts, and because he's not yet a good three point shooter which are easier to find at the 3 than the 4, he can help a team, including ours, better by playing the 4 generally.