Ben Gordon Has Moved On, But Have We?
Before I answer the question about Chicago moving on from Ben Gordon, let me throw some numbers at you:
2008-2009 (w/Ben Gordon):
FG%: .457 (16th)
PPG: 105.1 (8th)
Opponents FG%: .458 (15th)
2009-2010 (w/o Ben Gordon):
FG%: .433 (27th)
PPG: 91.4 (27th)
Opponents FG%: .457 (18th)
The obvious answer to the question posed is that this city was over him about 6 months after he won 6th Man of the Year. I will never understand why. After all that hater talk about how bad his defense was and how all his turnovers were killing the Bulls on offense, it sure looks to me like the Bulls are missing Gordon, wouldn’t you say? Sure he took some bad shots, but he hit a lot more of those than the “good” shots that Vinny and the Bulls have been creating for themselves lately. And its not like the team defense has improved all that much without him, as opponents’ fg% has dropped only 1/100th of a percent this season.
Okay, I am not going to rehash my defense of Ben Gordon here. The bottom line is that a poor shooting Bulls team right now looks in desperate need of him. Remember how frustrating it was that Vinny couldn’t seem to draw up plays at the end of games (or ever really) that involved BG dribbling around like a chicken with his head cut off, and then jacking up a terrible shot? Sure it went in a good amount of the time, since we all know he hit some big shots in his career, but it was difficult to watch. Well guess what? Now we don’t even have that. Rose refuses to pull the trigger, Salmons and Hinrich might as well be shooting blindfolded, and Brad Miller is, well, Brad Miller.
So as Gordon returns to town with claims of having “moved on”, and I believe he has since this team and city basically took a shit on him for most of his career here (Skiles bringing him off the bench for 3 years, Paxson not giving him an extension, Paxson not giving him an extension, etc), the question is, have the Bulls REALLY moved on? Perhaps psychologically the break with Gordon was occurring since his first day here, but in terms of what the Bulls really need to succeed this season, the people that truly understand basketball know what he meant to the team and we miss him. Bad.
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