He's got a shoulder injury. At 34, I wonder if he can play a whole playoff series, given how he stubs his toe and misses 15 games.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/chi-hamilton-watson-could-be-out-awhile-20120307,0,5828729,print.story
Assuming this is Hamilton's last injury of the season, he should have plenty of time to shake the rust.
Transplant, I think you're confusing intentions with results. If you can agree on their remarkable inability to stay on the court, the comparison doesn't seem far off.
Funny...I don't feel confused. A comparison to ERob is meant as an insult, not because a player's had the misfortune of injury, but because it carries with it the implication that, like ERob, the player isn't interested in competing and helping his team win...that is, the player is a dog. I have a problem with the insult when it's directed towards Hamilton. He's a proven competitor. His injuries this season haven't been the least bit mysterious and the reason he missed a lot of those games is that he tried to return too soon. I'm sticking with my "uncalled for, senator" position.
His injuries seem minor. He's in street clothes far more than he's played. He looks good in stretches of a few games. He taunts us with what could be, if he could stay in the game. I think his paycheck is the same as ERob got. I might liken the situation to Pippen, too. Aged veteran was clearly the best player on the court after signing a similar contract. Couldn't play in the games. But in his case, his knees were shot and he really was through. I liken him to ERob because of the minor injury after minor injury that has kept him in street clothes.
Sorry if my remark came off as callous. I think I interpreted the Erob comparison differently than you. I don't think Hamilton's faking anything, and he's obviously a better player than Erob ever was, by a mile. It's just that when I think of Erob, the first thing that comes to mind is that he was never on the damn court, and his trademark on the Bulls were all those goofy sweaters he wore on the sidelines, and the feeling of what could have been. With his latest injury, I'm beginning to think of Hamilton the same way. He'd clearly be useful to us if he were healthy (I'm a big believer in the synergistic effects of his game), but for whatever reason he's always getting injured, and I'm beginning to wonder what could have been. I don't think he's faking anything or being flighty. I think he's really injured. For me the Erob/Rip comparison isn't a character thing, it's a "I'm really excited about what they can do, but have been disappointed that they couldn't find a way to stay on the court" kind of thing. Obviously the case with Rip isn't as prolonged as the one with Erob, but when someone says "You know, Rip's kind of beginning to remind me of Erob", I can see where they're coming from.
Exactly. It's a "if only he could play, we'd be that much better" thing. ERob was a sought after FA and gobs of potential to help the team. Rip clearly has potential to help the team. I think we all just want to see it, even for 20 minutes a night.
Doug Thonus' "What to do about Rip Hamilton?" post at chicagonow.com: http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-bulls-confidential/2012/03/what-to-do-about-rip-hamilton/
This seems about right to me. Barring a lopsided trade, our best bet is to sit around and hope Hamilton stays healthy. No player we get is going to be remarkably better than him, and there's no one we could give up that we wouldn't miss.
The bigger news is about maybe the Bulls getting Dwight Howard, still. A number of GMs weighed in on the idea and most said you'd have to do it if Howard would sign an extension with the Bulls. They said it was sorta tough because of the Bulls' chemistry, but there aren't many chances to get a player as good as Howard. And Howard has never had a teammate as good as Rose.
