But seriously, I thought he got rid of the ball as I'd like to see him do so. Within a second. In Q4, he dribbled the ball for 10+ seconds at a time. And we lost the lead. I do think there is a correlation.
I think the Kirk-Rose backcourt has a lot of potential utility, even if it probably won't get play for more than 10 minutes a game on most nights. Kirk's unique in that he combines a wide variety of proficiencies that are usually only present in players that are much more highly regarded than he is. I think his biggest contribution to the team is the greater variety of lineups he allows a team to play that can cater to other players strengths without creating other weaknesses. This is probably why he seems to be thought more highly of by GM's and coaches than fans.
I'll add another +1 Rosenthal. I agree with Denny that the over-dribbling remains a hinderence but he is a true jack of all trades, master of none and that isn't intended as a backhand compliment. It is a compliment. He will never lead the league in anything but he is the walking definition of a "glue guy" and those guys have the ability to make the players around him better -- and he does seem to do that.
I've wandered if Hinrich's "overdribbling" is a symptom of his other shortcomings, and not something that's a negative independent of everything else. He's never been good around the rim, and he seems to do best when he can probe a defense vs. break it down, so I've always thought his constant dribbling was his way to stay above water while he lets the team find its best shot.
I always thought sharing the ball or having it in the hands of your most potent offensive players is the way to go.
Hinrich is decent still when healthy. The issue with him in recent years has been he gets nicked up and then his effectiveness goes into the toilet, and then he goes for stretches where he simply doesn't play due to injury. The increased minutes due to the Butler injury trouble me. Hopefully it turns out OK. To maximize Hinrich's value at this point you have to limit his minutes IMO. Easier said than done since he's OK when healthy and can play 2 positions, so its going to be hard to bench him to play Jeff Teague or to watch Dunleavy try and be a 2 guard (not feeling great at all about him being our starting 2).
Last night, Denver went right at both Dunleavy and Hinrich. I remember one play vividly. Jordan Hamilton got the ball near the top of the key, guarded by Dunleavy. Dunleavy did keep himself between Jordan and the basket, but there was 3 ft of space between him and Jordan. All the way into the lane, 3 ft. All the way to next to the basket, 3 ft. Layup. No contact the whole way. Hamilton went 3-5 in the first 7 minutes he played against Dunleavy. In Hinrich's first 6 minutes, they went to Fournier over and over again. The guy lit up Kirk, going 4-6 in those 6 minutes. Thibs took him out of the game. Later in the game, when Nate was in, Kirk guarded him for a while, and Nate guarded Kirk. Sort of. Kirk would dribble the ball over half court and pass and then Nate would just leave him be. He'd go over and pester Rose or at least shadow him. Paid ZERO attention to Kirk. Kirk actually did do fine against Andre Miller, who's 80 years old. I think someone said they have our number. I think they looked at the film for our weak spots on defense and exploited those with isolation plays. They also held our hottest player, Lu, to 3-18 shooting and 6 points. I give them credit for good coaching.
Kirk will never be an all-star stud player. I think that is frustrating to me and a lot of others becausewe hoped he would be. The reality is he is a journeyman guard who is good at a lot of things struggles with some things and neither excels or really sucks at any aspect of the game. He is good but not great. Nota franchise player but not a benchwarmer. He is as vanilla as vanilla can get but ask your grocer what the best selling ice cream flavor is. Hint: its vanilla. Chewbacca is a Wookie. It does not make sense. You must aquit.
Yeah, Hinrich's vanilla. There's a segment of fans who have pretty much never liked Hinrich. There's a segment of fans who pretty much never liked Ben Gordon. There is/was virtually no crossover between these two segments. Hinrich is/was viewed by his critics as the "teacher's pet," or in his case management's pet and/or the coach's pet. Hinrich critics sharpen their stats and hurl them at their enemies. Hinrich's defenders (yeah, I've always been one of them) cling to their beloved intangibles. Whatever. Coaches have always liked Hinrich for a number of reasons, but probably most of all because coaches invariably hate mistakes and Hinrich doesn't make many mistakes. Of course one problem with having Hinrich on the court is that one (or ideally more than one) of your other 4 players better be able to win the game for you because that's not Hinrich's thing.
I think it's beyond the point of him being OK to put out there. The guy is no spring chicken anymore. He never really displayed much athleticism in the first place. Whatever he had is mostly gone. You can see it when he tries to guard anyone younger than 29. If all he did was play rock solid D, not turn the ball over when he touches it, and make enough 3pt shots to keep defenses honest, he wouldn't be so bad. But he's not playing rock solid D. He's hurting the team more than helping. He effectively was yanked for that reason, and only played again once the game wasn't much in doubt. I wish it were different.
If I didn't know how resilient you are Denny, I might worry about the toll this year may take on you.
Not much, but he funneled him away from the middle which is what the defense asks him to do. The Thibodeau defense doesn't expect a backcourt defender to stop a driving opponent but rather to deflect him to the help.
That's funny, because I think I may have the same issue with both players. Can any of you envision Hinrich, or for that matter Gordon, being able to handle the ball when facing playoff double teams? I don't see it. Lebron/Chalmers would eat him for lunch. Indiana would also cause all kinds of havoc. Because of this, I look at the Hinrich/Rose lineup as more of a gimmick. I like it during the regular season and maybe against a team like NJ in the playoffs. Against the real heavyweights? I don't think you can play that lineup.
If recent history is any indicator, Hinrich will soon become injured and his productivity will plummet. For the Bulls' sake this season, I hope this isn't the case, but its been a long time since it hasn't happened. Then he'll go from decent to bad or just out. Hinrich has never been great and certainly isn't a guy that a championship contender would build around. He's a decent glue guy when healthy.
