http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...,1,454341.story <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Hinrich and Sefolosha look like a pairing that could do well. Before he hurt his ribs Monday night at Seattle, Hinrich was playing his best all season since being paired with Sefolosha. Primarily it has enabled Hinrich to not only defend smaller players at point guard but also to be guarded by them. With Gordon or Duhon in the backcourt, the bigger defender used to take Hinrich. Now he has to match up with Sefolosha. "I find playing with Thabo I play against my own position more," Hinrich said. "You look at scoring and being aggressive a lot differently. "It is a lot easier on me physically and easier for me to play against guys equal at my position. It's been a while since I've done it. Playing guys at my position, I can get my shot off so much easier at all times." The numbers bear that out. Though there was constant talk this season about the fallout from the rejected contract extensions and trade talks on Deng and Gordon, it was Hinrich's poor play that had a major effect on the team's slow start. But since being paired with Sefolosha, Hinrich has returned to the upward arc he'd been in throughout his career. In eight games starting alongside Sefolosha until the injury, Hinrich is averaging 21.1 points, 6.1 assists and 2.6 turnovers, the latter just about the classic 2.5-1 ratio suggested for NBA point guards. Hinrich also is shooting 46.3 percent, which is about where he'd risen to last season and good for a point guard. That also raises some questions about Gordon that the Bulls will have to consider. Gordon rejected a $50 million contract extension in October. If the Bulls seem set at shooting guard and will go with Hinrich and Sefolosha or even Duhon for a time, can they afford that kind of contract for a sixth man? Should they? Especially when Sefolosha seems deserving of the minutes now?</div> My response: Hell no.
By the way, I think Hinrich saying things that way is a sort of douchebag thing to do. He's throwing Gordon (and Duhon's) size out there as a reason for his poor play even though it was obviously no different than the last three years he was playing next to those guys. Making excuses for poor play is one thing, but throwing your teammates under the bus in the course of making them is pretty lame. He didn't have problems for three freaking years, so to blame his difficult defensive assignments now is a load of crap. But at the end of the day, there's also some truth to it. Not the right thing for Kirk to think or say, but there's truth in it. Especially if you've got the guy who has to play with him openly lobbying about it. So what do you do? Trade Kirk? Well, if you still have the problem. The fact is Kirk is one of the better fits for Gordon league-wide. So if he's throwing his hands up and saying he'd rather play with Thabo (whether justified or not for him to be doing it), you've got a pretty big problem.
