Hinrich the Offensive Player???, Bulls expecting him to score more Options

[Chisoxfn]

An article in the tribune had a couple real interesting quotes on Hinrich. It goes along with my own personal feelings of Kirk. I think he was forced into a very difficult role having to always play the best offensive player, and when Gordon was on the court it also meant he had to match up against a guy much bigger than him.

With the addition of Sef, Hinrich no longer will have to log quite as many minutes guarding big SG's. This mean we'll have a guy with a bit more height to guard those SG's, leaving Hinrich to focus on shutting down PG's and hopefully improving offensively.

"...Gordon and Hinrich seem capable of averaging close to 20 points per game next season. Bulls coaches have said Hinrich tires himself on defense, perhaps to the point where his offensive numbers suffer.

With rookie Thabo Sefolosha expected to give Hinrich a respite on defense, Hinrich could turn the corner..."

Those quotes sum things up and I really do have high expectations for Hinrich developing into a much more efficient offensive player. I also think he's capable of getting to the line often since he has a knack for getting into the paint and now that he has a few years under his belt, he should be savvy enough to draw some fouls.

Link to the Entire Story

[soxfan101]

I wouldnt mind if he scored the exact same ppg but would hope he does it more efficiently now. Especially if we add a low post scorer to help(gooden/Wilcox) or if Sweetney emerges as a good starter.

[madisonsmadhouse]

Kirk is not going to be a 20 PPG guy until he develops a consistant outside shot (3 point range mostly) and he learns how to draw fouls and get to the line for the easy points.

[Bullies4Life]

Kirk is not going to be a 20 PPG guy until he develops a consistant outside shot (3 point range mostly) and he learns how to draw fouls and get to the line for the easy points.

I agree. And also, it would be nice if we had an inside precense down-low to take off the pressure of all our guards. (Get some open shots) But at the same time, i still think Hinrich averaging 20 a game is a long stretch. Not many point guards do that in this league. And i really dont think hinrich has the tools to be that type of player that can average around 20 a game.

[spiderman]

Kirk is a streaky shooter - if he gets more consistent with his jump shot, then he could come close to that 20 PPG average, but I tend to think that he'll probably be in that 15-17 range with about 7 or 8 assists a night while playing good defense. Nothing wrong with that.

[Chisoxfn]

Kirk is not going to be a 20 PPG guy until he develops a consistant outside shot (3 point range mostly) and he learns how to draw fouls and get to the line for the easy points.

He's already the best player we have when it comes to drawing fouls and I think he'll continue to improve with that, especially as he turns into a bit more of an agressive offensive player at times.

[Brdrckr]

I believe Kirk needs to be more confident in driving towards the basket. Many games last year he drove to the basket and seemed as though he got scared and completely missed an easy layup. I think over time this will change. Just cannot wait til all these players are in their prime. Its going to be fun.

[Chicago Bulls Fr...]

I would rather have Kirk score around the same and maybe a little less if he can dish out 2-3 more assists per game. In the playoffs he began to drive to the basket more and pickup fouls wich is something he should be able to do this year along with Ben Gordon. Now with Ben Wallace Kirk wont have to be afraid of throwing an Alleyoop to someone and have them drop it or fall out of their hands

With the sure handed Big Ben I think that gives Kirk atleast another assist or two more per game. But having a good low post scorer would exploit Kirks shot even more because teams will be forced to stay honest or even double team our low post scorer and that opens up for a kick out for a three pointer or an uncontested shot with will allow Kirk to get more easy points therefore upping his ppg.

Ben is our primary scorer I would like to think. He will and should be our first option to score. He is in his 3rd year now so he should be able to get more calls whenever he drives to the basket. These are the roles I see the players having this season.

Kirk Hinrich- "Defensive Stopper" I hope he gets recognized for his great defense this year rather than last year, I thought he deserved 2nd team all defense. He is our 2nd best defender on the team and should continue to do that this season while being more assertive with the ball.

Ben Gordon- "Scorer" There is no lie Ben loves to shoot. He will be the guy that puts the points on the board and most likely will be our Go-to player at the end of games. Teams will double team him this year more often so Ben will have to get better with his ball handling and being strong with the ball, I think he has a big year this year for us.

Luol Deng- "Slasher" I think Lu will be better for us this season. He is going to be the guy that picks up alot of fouls by driving to the basket and I think he can help us with points in the paint with either his drives or even his post up game. I look for him to be the best player on the team for years to come.

PJ Brown- "Inside Scorer/Veteran Leadership" PJ's job will most likely be to score and rebound in the post. I think he will start now because he is 6'11 and the tallest on the team and with someone like Sweetney starting we will lack height and there will be alot of mismatches for us. PJ could be a guy that gets us 11 and 6 for us this season and that would be good enough for me.

Ben Wallace- "Game Changer" He is the raining DPOY and will block shots. He is a guy that can change a game buy limiting the opponents shots and not allowing second chance points by securing a rebound. With our lack of low post scoring as we all know, I think we will see Ben maybe add a little bit of offense this year.

Back to the main point. I would like to see Kirk get around 15 ppg and 8-9 assists per game and I would be fine with that.

[Chisoxfn]

I believe Kirk needs to be more confident in driving towards the basket. Many games last year he drove to the basket and seemed as though he got scared and completely missed an easy layup. I think over time this will change. Just cannot wait til all these players are in their prime. Its going to be fun.

He seemed to improve at that over the course of the season and also got a lot more savvy about drawing the fouls in those situations. Duhon also went into the lane a lot and could sucessfully penetrate but seemed to have a far lower conversion rate.

I'm hoping both improve in that category since it would help our points in the paint and put a little more pressure on the defense. I realize its not what you expect when you say points in the paint, but high percentage shots help, no matter how they come.

By the way, welcome aboard

I would rather have Kirk score around the same and maybe a little less if he can dish out 2-3 more assists per game. In the playoffs he began to drive to the basket more and pickup fouls wich is something he should be able to do this year along with Ben Gordon. Now with Ben Wallace Kirk wont have to be afraid of throwing an Alleyoop to someone and have them drop it or fall out of their hands

I think you sum things up really nicely in this first paragraph. I'm hoping Kirk becomes a bit more efficient of a scorer with more weapons around him (maybe his ppg goes up slights, but I expect the shooting % and trips to the line to increase).