Tomáš Satoranský does the right amount

The Bulls point guard is the perfect complementary piece for a team looking to make noise.

The NBA is a star-driven league. Highlights packages typically only feature the lesser names when they do something eye-popping. Between the LeBrons and the Miles Bridges dunks lie a few players who just come in and perform at a consistently solid level, yet get passed over by SportsCenter. Think Jalen Brunson and Daniel Theis (or from the Warriors dynasty runs, say Shaun Livingston.)

Tomáš Satoranský is one of those players. Satoranský does a lot of little things competently. Even if I never come away from a Bulls game wowed by Satoranský, I never come away underwhelmed either. There are few rotations in the league that Satoranský wouldn’t walk into as a plus addition.

Lest I paint Satoranský as a mere satisficer, let’s get to all the things he does well. Per Cleaning the Glass, Sato scores 1.26 points per shot attempt, best amongst all combo guards in the league.

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He is doing this on a near-50/40/90 split (51.5/39.5/90.7 through Monday) in 24 minutes per game.

Sato does this by carefully picking his spots in-between the All Star shooting of teammates Nikola Vučević and Zach LaVine. Sato has the patience to probe, get defenders on his hip, and shoot if it seems like the best available option.

That patience should not be confused with indecision; Sato will drive with purpose when he spots an opening.

Even if one wouldn’t go so far as to say that Sato pressures the rim, he still attempts 34% of his shots at the rim, in the 84th percentile of guards per CTG. He finishes a peak-LeBron level 76% of his rim attempts, in the 92nd percentile for guards. That’s a direct result of his decisiveness and a sneakily-tall 6’7” frame. With Sato on the floor, the Bulls shoot better on more rim attempts (overall, the Bulls’ offense is +4.3 with Sato on versus off.)

When those lanes to the rim don’t present themselves, Sato is purposeful with getting to his mid-range spots; on the season, Sato is shooting 52% on long mid-rangers.

Sato is money from those spots around the elbows and he can take defenses by surprise, often rising from a head-down dribble to get a shot off before the defender can put up a meaningful contest.

Source: Basketball Reference

Especially impressive is that Satoranský is scoring efficiently in every which way. Roughly half his shots come after 2 dribbles or more per NBA advanced stats, and he shoots 51% on those shots.

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20% of Sato’s shots are pull-ups, on which he shoots an even 50%.

Off the ball, Sato is a smart cutter and uses that to generate easy layups, seemingly materializing unmarked under the basket. Helpers have to be alert; Sato will move in lock-step with his defender when the latter rotates away.

Poor Edmond Sumner (Pacers number 5 above) has barely realized that he needs to zone up and Sato is at the basket for the lay-in. Per NBA Advanced Stats, Satoranský scores 1.55 points per possession on cuts; weakside defenders need to stay on their toes.

Sato’s chemistry with Thaddeus Young regularly produces made-it-look-easy baskets. Here, in a variation on Chicago action, Sato pitches the ball to Young and goes into a pin down for Patrick Williams. The second that the Suns defenders botch the switch, Sato slips the screen and is off to the basket.

(Side bar: The in-dribble one-hand pass from Young is such a thing of beauty.)

Over a quarter of Sato’s passes have come from Young this season. They recognize each other’s rhythms; even as Sato makes the cut, Young may nonchalantly glance the wrong way, faking Sato’s defender into slowing just long enough for a passing window to open.

Satoranský feasts on those big man passes from above the nail and Nikola Vučević, a nifty passer himself, is starting to notice.

Sato cuts into the paint before Zach LaVine’s pass has even reached Vučević there. (We’ll ignore Anthony Edwards on the weak side just watching Sato cut in front of him and focus instead on Daniel Theis’ excellent interior screen.) That recognition from Satoranský manifests not just in cuts to the rim, but in relocation attempts. Here, recognizing that the Suns have gone into a zone, he sprints out to the corner for a wide open look.

If the Bulls make a successful run to the play-in, or even the playoffs, it will be on the backs of their All Stars and Thaddeus Young. Tomáš Satoranský will deserve his laurels too though, filling the gaps with minimum fuss and maximum efficiency.

1. Neck-and-neck with Sato in second place? Jalen Brunson.

2. A not-insignificant 17% of his shots come after 7 or more dribbles and Sato is shooting 58% on those attempts.