Doug Thonus wrote an article based on this title. It makes a good poll, discussion. So vote and discuss. Will be left open for 31 days. Want to read his blog? http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-b...hinrich-fated-to-come-back-or-injury-fill-in/
I hope he will thrive and believe it is possibe but I unfortunatley do have my doubts. I hioe my doubts prove unfounded.
I went with the "fated" choice, but have some reservations. It's clear to me that there's a mutual admiration society thing going on between Hinrich and Bulls' management, but Hinrich also fits a couple team needs. I can't help but wonder if the Bulls would have ponied up $4M for Hinrich if he was going to be strictly a backup. I echo TB's feelings and hope that Hinrich's return to the Bulls coincides with a return to form.
I guess the question is "fated by whom?" But yes, certainly a long-stated desire on the part of almost everyone connected to the Bulls to have him come back. But it may be too late, as is often the case in Greek tragedies.
I said "injury fill-in." I never thought he was more than just a good player and it's been a long time since he's been a good player. I don't expect him to recapture the skills he displayed as a much younger guy, and ultimately the peter principle will come into play. He'll get minutes justified by his incompetence (that's the peter principle). They're paying him way too much, so they're probably going to expect a lot. On the other hand, they may simply be appealing to fans who liked Hinrich as a means to put butts in the seats after talking about "basketball decisions" and then acting on "what's good for the owner's wallet" instead.
I honestly don't know what kind of player Hinrich is these days. When he was running the point for the "Try Harder" Bulls who brought the franchise back to respectability, I thought Hinrich was playing some very good basketball. I didn't like Hinrich as a SG next to Rose, but that rookie Rose clearly wasn't the MVP Rose. Before Rose came on the Bulls' scene, Hinrich was an above average PG...accent on defense. While Hinrich can play some SG, it's not what he does best. He does, however, provide a "secondary ballhandler" for Rose which some fans seem to believe is critically important. It's completely obvious that GarPax don't give a flyin' fuck about Hinrich's PER...during his Bulls' years or afterwards. It's almost like they think that their years of NBA talent evaluation experience makes their opinions on NBA players somehow superior to those of us who have basketball-reference.com as a bookmark. Arrogant bastards. When they win another 6 titles in 8 seasons, they can puff their chests. Until then, they need to work on their humility.
Those "Try Harder" Bulls played a lot of 3 guard offense with Duhon at the point along with Kurt and BG. 6APG for a PG isn't very good, and that was Kurt at his best. Considering how he pounded the dribble and killed the shot clock, he should get 6 APG just by passing the ball with :04 left to someone who makes the shot. As an SG, his shot selection was terrible. I remember a lot of times he missed shots when we had a lead that made games closer than they should have in the end. As a scorer, his 12.5 career PPG on 11 FGA isn't very good either. Compare with Deng's 16.2 on 13.6 (he wasn't a 3pt shooter most of his career!). Or Ben Gordon's 16.5 on 13.3 - and that includes 3/8th of his career putting up Hinrich-like numbers in a system that misused him. I realize it is a strategy to consume the :24 clock and emphasize defense, but it really handcuffs the players' creativity and is incredibly boring to watch.
Did they? According to 82.games.com, in '07-'08, the season before Rose arrived, Hinrich, Gordon and Duhon were never on the court together. I have to admit that while I didn't recall that 3-guard alignment being used much, it surprised me a bit that they never played together.
