Matt Thomas’ profile: A shooter assassin and off-screen game artist

Matt Thomas (29, 1.91m) is now a player with Panathinaikos, who announced the acquisition of the American guard on a 6-month contract with a possibility of a further year.

The American guard was Dejan Radonic’s chosen one as the Montenegrin coach tried to add a shooter to the list who would open the pitch.

the Sportish Analysis using InStat Scout The profile of the American who spent the last three years in the NBA, with a necessary footnote: his writing sample is his actions in the two years he spent in Spain (2017-2019) in Obradeiro and Valencia since the last three For years he had a much smaller role in the NBA with the Raptors, Jazz and Bulls jerseys he played and cannot be judged by his presence in the world’s premier league.

The best shooter in Europe in 2017-2019

Let’s start with the basics: Matt Thomas is a great shot. In the two years he played in Spain, he averaged a whopping 47.6% on three-pointers in all competitions, on 4.8 attempts per game.

It’s no exaggeration to say he was probably Europe’s top marksman from 2017-19, as his numbers – and image on the ground – suggest just that.

And his shot chart from the two years 2017-2019 is unimaginable as he shot with incredible percentages from every point of the floor:

Matt Thomas is an off-screen game artist. The way he comes off the screens and is executed can only be compared to that of Jaycee Carroll and Kyle Couric. The way he moves, the speed he executes, the fact that he’s equally good on the left or right screen, these are all things he does so well that they need to be taught to him.

At the same time, of course, he was lucky to play in two teams in Europe that support this style of play: Men Obradeiro have built their entire philosophy over the past few years around players who know how to get off the screen (Matt Thomas, Andreas Obst, Cassius Roberson, Fletcher McGee, Kostas Vassiliadis), while Valencia have a game that relies heavily on off-ball movement and good distance.

Of course, Thomas isn’t just a bad shot in off-screen situations. It is also excellent in spot up situations (shooting from a standing position). According to InStat Scout, Thomas shot 53.5% from the three-point line in catch-and-shoot situations in 2017-2019. However, when he was free (without a player tagging him), his percentage in spot up situations skyrocketed to a horrific 58.8%.

The message in Thomas’ case is clear: he is not a player who should be left behind in the region. In a Panathinaikos that needs to improve its distances on the ground, a shooting player is a given, creating spaces and opportunities when a green player wants to attack the basket. Especially considering Derrick Williams is having a career season from the edge, shooting 41.7% from the 3-point line in the EuroLeague.

The… University of Valencia brought out a different side of him

Tomas, known as an excellent marksman, has been called up to other duties in the Spanish league. And it was the environment at Valencia in the 2018/19 season that allowed him to show more, playing in a side that generally like their guards to take the initiative.

According to InStat Scout, Thomas fielded 166 pick and rolls in an Obradeiro jersey as a ball handler in the 2017–18 season. A year later he put up 295 pick and rolls with Valencia (!) who wanted him to have more time with the ball in his hands.

Surprisingly, his assist average dropped (from 2.4 per game at Obradeiro to 1.6 at Valencia), but gradually Tomas seemed more comfortable with the ball in his hands.

The fact that he had four big boys at Valencia (Bojan Dublevic, Mike Tobey, Luis Lambeiri and Will Thomas) with the ability – some more, some less – to both pick and roll (where they rolled to the basket after the screen ) and pick and pop (where they went to the perimeter after the screen) definitely helped him read situations better.

Thomas was not and cannot be the main creator of a team. He lacks the necessary first step to consistently create his own shot. But his threat as a marksman and his ability to execute the dribble force teams to grapple with him when he’s the ball handler, which sometimes – but not entirely – expands his options. The American’s interpretation of the game isn’t at elite level, but it’s quite good and the University of Valencia helped with that.

Defense issues and the issue of preparedness

A player of good height (1.91m) but average athleticism, Thomas struggles with defense. In fact, he was often a target for his opponents. According to InStat Scout, players coined by the American from 2017 to 2019 shot 59.4% with two-pointers and 33.3% with three-pointers when he was the starting defender on a total of 575 occasions.

Those are pretty high percentages, especially considering he rarely tagged the opponent’s best player. During that time, he allowed 1.15 points per possession as a main defender, according to InStat Scout, a meager number. Thomas is sometimes active on defense. But he doesn’t have the speed, size or length to mark athletic players and usually has to hide on defense.

At the same time, investigating the case of the NBA guard, it becomes clear that it is impossible to ignore the fact that he will have to attend an official game from March 21, 2022, that is, 10 months ago.

It has to be assumed that he was training all along and waiting for an offer from an NBA team, but it’s one thing to be in good physical shape and another to be in good playing shape. In general, it must be considered certain that it will take some time before he finds his rhythm.

A player with elements that were missing from the squad

It is a fact that Panathinaikos did not have a player with Tomas’ characteristics in their squad. With the “good morning” the American can give the “Greens” something they were missing: the threat from the outside line, the opportunity to open the field with his shot, to occupy the weak side’s defender, who doesn’t give may aid in marking American.

Tomas has an element that’s generally rare in European basketball: the off-screen play. Of course, this means on the other hand that the team would want to work for him several times to get the most out of it since he doesn’t have the ability to create his own shot himself.

At the same time, however, Panathinaikos is preparing to add another mediocre-to-poor defensive periphery to its squad, with front-line defense being an issue since the start of the season as, alongside Paris Lee, Mateus Ponitka and Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, the guards and the ” green” strikers lag behind in personal defence.

At the same time, the “Clover” will now have 9 foreign players on their squad, 7 of them from the region: Paris Lee, Nate Walters, Mateus Ponitka, Marius Grigonis, Matt Thomas, Dwayne Bacon, Derrick Williams, Arturas Gudaitis and Andrew Andrews, with the latter not on the team, but – at least for now – not on the list. In the Basket League, however, only 6 foreigners may be used per game. This could be a problem.

Ultimately, Thomas is a player who has proven himself in European basketball. With his takeover, Panathinaikos knows which player they added to their machine. It remains to find a way to use him and get the best out of him and the team’s roster. The sequel, on the floor.