https://youtu.be/XdEhgOdHQOg
Since I kicked Tyler Herro off my channel over the off-season, the glorious halls of scrubdom otherwise known as the DownToBuck YouTube channel have been noticeably bare of one important thing: unpigmented white dudes from Wisconsin. Being myself an unpigmented white dude from Wisconsin, it is important to consistently upload videos for players who remind me of myself. Especially if those players also happen to be good shooters.
I don’t have a lot of players to choose from, if we’re being honest. As far as I know, the category of “unpigmented white dudes from Wisconsin” only has one player in it, and that player is Matt Thomas. If you’ve been following his stats closely (I don’t blame you if you haven’t been), you’ll have noticed that he didn’t have a consistent role in Toronto, and he doesn’t have a consistent role in Utah either. This is just his second double-digit scoring game of the season. You’ll also have noticed that his three-point percentage in Utah really, really sucks.
Going into this game, Thomas was 3-of-21 from three while wearing a Jazz uniform. That’s a stat that causes me physical anguish, because I know what it’s like to only make three three-pointers out of 21 attempts. When I’m at the park and my shooting goes cold, my percentages will often look something like that. So not only do I identify with Thomas’ skin tone, I identify with his shooting struggles.
Maybe this game will be the one that allows Thomas to get back on track. 3-of-3 from distance, plus a bunch of easy confidence-building layups. That’s one major difference between him and me: he can hit layups while tall guys are in the general vicinity, whereas I will bungle every single layup even if it’s a runaway fast break. And then I’ll start cramping because any amount of leg exertion will turn my calves into toothpaste.