McCaffrey: Tony Snell Makes Most Of His Opportunity

By Brendan McCaffrey-

CHICAGO (CBS) -- For one of the few times in his young Bulls career, Tony Snell seemed to be the answer coach Tom Thibodeau needed in Chicago's 104-86 win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night at United Center.

Who could replace the returning Mike Dunleavy, out with early foul trouble? Enter Snell, who replaced Dunleavy and scored 13 of his career-high 24 points in the first half. Snell did a half-decent Dunleavy impression from the 3-point line too in the half, going 3-for-3 from distance.

Who can replace the injured Jimmy Butler, out of the second half with a shoulder strain? That would be Snell, again.

With Snell playing the entire third quarter for Butler, the Bulls defense stifled the Kings, holding them to only 15 points on 31 percent shooting and extending their lead in the game to 20 points. Although the Bulls were badly outrebounded for the game, they maintained a 13-8 advantage in the third quarter. The Kings seemed happy to roll over and give the Bulls their third straight win, thanks in part to Snell's performance.

"I feel good," Snell said. "All the hard work that I'm putting in the gym, it's paying off. Just being in the game, it's getting me more game experience and more confidence to be out there and play."

That confidence has manifested itself in improved shooting for Snell, who finished the game 9-for-11 from the field and 4-for-6 from the 3-point line. Snell stressed his ability to be ready to play as key to any success. Some nights, like last Wednesday in Houston, he won't play.  Other nights, like Tuesday, he could lead the team with 41 minutes.

"I've been through it last year, it's nothing new," Snell said. "It's staying ready at all times, because you never know when your name will get called. I've got to make sure I'm ready when my name gets called."

Expect Snell's name to continue to get called in the short term, especially if Butler's shoulder injury lingers. Butler left the game at halftime and didn't return because of that right shoulder strain. He was expected to have an MRI on Wednesday.

As Snell fielded questions from a large group of reporters after the game, another young Bulls wing player sat a few lockers over, quietly pondering the victory. Rookie forward Doug McDermott again played sparingly Tuesday night, the lit end of a human victory cigar as the Bulls finished off the Kings. Still, McDermott remained upbeat and professional, even after playing just one minute of action and scoring three points.

"You just gotta stay ready throughout the game, because you never know what can happen with foul trouble, injuries," McDermott said.  "To be honest, you just gotta be locked in, and (my chance to play) came down to the final minute. It's tough, you're frozen on the bench and you have to come in and play hard. It's definitely a learning process for me."

McDermott has seen only seven minutes of playing time since returning from his right knee injury that he suffered in November. He hopes practice time can soon translate to more game action.

"To be honest, I've been practicing great, shooting the ball really well," McDermott said. "I feel as good as I ever have. I think it's just defensively, I've got to get better."

"I've got to earn Thibs' trust and I understand (that) I'm a rookie for one, and I was hurt. I missed 30 games so it's kind of hard to get right back up and get right back in the mix."

Getting back in the mix may prove difficult for McDermott, with veteran Dunleavy finally returning from his ankle injury Tuesday and with the recent emergence of Snell. If McDermott couldn't crack Thibodeau's rotation with Dunleavy out, doing so now would seem next to impossible. Despite the bleak outlook on minutes, McDermott spoke highly of the relationship between he and his coach.

"It's good," McDermott said. "I show up every day to work, he coaches me hard, he gives me advice. He's been good for me. Obviously I want to play more, everyone wants to play more, this is our dream.  But at the same time, we're trying to win a championship, and it takes guys like me, unselfish guys, to be able to accomplish that."

McDermott looks to teammates like Joakim Noah as players who worked past early career struggles to establish themselves as reliable NBA players.

"I lean on Jo a lot with that," McDermott said. "He was telling me about how rough his rookie year was. Fans used to boo him when he checked into game at times, and to look at him now and really think that that happened early in his career, it's pretty amazing how far he's come."

Brendan McCaffrey is the sports director at 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @b_mccaffrey.