Drafted back in 2013, the young Tony Snell has had some growing pains during his first couple of seasons. Glimpses of what he could be in the NBA have been marred by inconsistencies and perhaps even a lack of confidence. During this 2015-16 season so far, however, Snell has started to grow and improve almost each and every week. Tonight, the New Mexico product showed the scoring prowess we've all been waiting for against a good Toronto Raptors team as he dropped 22 points.
Snell did get off to a slow start in the game, but really came alive and exploded in the second half. The 6-foot-7 guard-forward was playing attentive and instinctive defense and trusted his offensive game, whether it was knocking down the three-ball or driving down the lane and going up in traffic.
On the night, he shot 8-of-14 from the field, 4-of-5 from deep and ended with 22 points, seven boards and an assist.
That huge second half started to really manifest late in the third in early in the fourth as you could almost say that he started to take over the game. Jimmy Butler was struggling with his shot and resigned to just doing everything else he could on an off night; Derrick Rose played phenominally, but he still needed to get some rest in; Nikola Mirotic was ineffective for most of the night; and Doug McDermott was out with a minor knee injury. It was Snell who stepped up and put the game out of reach from a dynamic Raptors squad.
It's arguable that if Snell didn't step up and play the way he did that the Bulls would've dropped their second game in a row, and then more questions would've followed about who this team is and what they're capable of.
Now Snell hasn't had a spectacular season by any means, averaging a modest 6.1 points and 3.6 boards per game. He's only shooting 36.7 percent from the field, which is horrid. However, he's also stroking it for a career high 42 percent from deep, and as shown today, when he's confident and aggressive, he can score from the paint as well.
But he's a lot more important to this team than the numbers show. When he's been a consistent scorer off the bench and put up double-figures, the Bulls are 6-2. Snell doesn't have to put up 22, but if he can come off the bench and simply be aggressive and confident, then Chicago is a much better team.
Really, that's what has been missing from this team -- consistent wing scoring. Obviously, it hurt when Rose wasn't playing as well, but that's started to get better. And if guys like Snell and McDermott can become consistent scoring options off of the bench more consistently, then this team won't need to trade one of the big men for a wing scorer.
This type of output isn't something we should expect on a nightly basis or anything, but seeing him have arguably his best game of his career at this point in time is encouraging for a Bulls team looking to find themselves before the trade deadline.
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