Snell hopes a little bigger is better

There's a big difference in Bulls swingman Tony Snell this season. He can actually flex his biceps.

Last year as a rookie, Snell was alarmingly thin. His weight gain has been relatively modest (10 pounds), but he's clearly making some progress.

"I feel a lot better. I was a lot skinnier last year," Snell said Friday at the Advocate Center. "I've gotten a lot of comments that I'm bigger and stronger. So that means I'm working hard and it's been a big compliment for me."

Whether the weight gain will result in steady playing time remains to be seen. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau usually doesn't have much to say when asked about Snell, but the former New Mexico star played reasonably well in Tuesday's preseason game against Detroit, with 10 points and 4 rebounds in 17 minutes.

It's possible Snell could get left out of the rotation this season, though he could fill a couple of vital roles. He could add to the supposedly improved outside shooting and he could join Jimmy Butler as a quality wing defender. Skinny or not, Snell has incredibly long arms on his 6-foot-7 frame.

"I really want to be that one player where I can go defend the best player out there," Snell said. "I'm learning from Jimmy right now."

Snell spent most of the summer in Chicago, lifting weights and launching a strict eating regimen.

"I've got to eat every three hours," he said. "We have a chef here. We eat breakfast here, good food. We work out, then we eat lunch here. Then I go get my own food, mostly like rice and Chipotle; just good, calorie food."

Eating constantly would be easy for most people, but it took Snell a little while to adjust.

"I'm getting used to it. I've got to do what I've got to do to make myself better," he said. "A full meal every three hours."

Rotation shapes up:

Things could change during the next six preseason games. But if coach Tom Thibodeau plans to use a nine-man rotation in the regular season, the first four players off the bench figure to be Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich, Doug McDermott and Aaron Brooks.

McDermott has an advantage over Nikola Mirotic because there will be more minutes available at small forward. Thibodeau confirmed the obvious Friday regarding Mirotic's position.

"I don't see him as a three, I see him as a four," Thibodeau said of Mirotic. "I want him to understand the four first, and maybe we get a look at it later, but I don't see him playing the three."

Tony Snell might have a chance to push McDermott for playing time. Jimmy Butler probably won't sit much and when he does, Hinrich is the most likely candidate to play the two guard.

Based on what we've seen so far, Brooks could easily end up as a finisher, with Derrick Rose, Butler and two of the big men. Brooks has shown he can score in bunches.

The Bulls will get another test Saturday at Milwaukee. The Bucks feature Chicago native Jabari Parker, the No. 2 pick of the draft.

Father in the audience:

Doug McDermott's father. Greg, the head coach at Creighton, attended Friday's practice and it turns out the son is having an identity problem. He says teammate Aaron Brooks started calling him "Ray" and didn't stop after being corrected.

"I figured he thought I was someone like Ray Allen and was trying to draw the comparison there," McDermott joked.

Asked if he glanced at his father, sitting in the balcony during practice, McDermott quickly squelched that notion.

"No, not really. I'm over him," he said with a laugh.