PG Evaluations: Chicago

Over the coming weeks, 'Runnin' The Point' will be taking a look at every team's PG situation based on this year and offering an assessment, starting with non-playoff teams.

KEY NUMBER: 4.8 – The drop in points per game for Kirk Hinrich from ’07 to ’08. Hinrich went from dropping 16 a night for The East’s Next Top Team to a struggling player barely averaging double figures on a team who plummeted below expectations. This happened in a matter of 10 months.

THE GOOD STUFF: Uh… umm, well, Hinrich’s alma mater (Kansas) won the NCAA title, that would make Captain Kirk happy, right?

THE BAD STUFF: Geez, where to begin. Somebody contaminated the water in Chicago this year, and Hinrich was the main consumer. Just 11 points per, 41% shooting, and an immeasurable confidence drop. How bad was it? My game notes from Chicago’s December meeting with Boston: “Hinrich is trying too hard… probably time to bench him.” The footnote to that scribble: 10:28 left in the third quarter.

THE BACK-UP: 27 years from now when some junkie is sifting through the Bulls media guide, they will see that in 2008 Chris Duhon had another ho-hum Duhon kind of year: 5 points, 4 assists in 20 minutes per game off the bench. What they won’t see is the suspension for disciplinary reasons stemming from discontent over a lack of playing time. Probably no big deal in a lost season, but the Bulls could’ve done without it, especially from a mediocre player.

EVALUATION: Just write this one off. A bad year for a good player (Hinrich) who probably wasn’t playing in the greatest environment known to man. But no excuses. Here is a guy who, as mentioned, was putting up almost 17 a night for a team many predicted to win the East. The one thing that really stuck out to me was the confidence Hinrich has lost. It will be how he bounces back from it that perhaps determines his fate as a professional – really, it will. Keep an eye on it.

ALSO SEE: PG Evaluation Index