HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Marc Narducci

The Chicago Bulls got off to a miserable start this year, one that consisted of bum ankle to their star point guard that altered the team’s fortunes, rumors of the coach’s impending firing, and the search for more offense after the departure of Ben Gordon.

While the ship hasn’t totally been righted, the Bulls appear capable of returning to the postseason, even though the team’s makeup could change by the Feb. 18 NBA trading deadline.

First off, when point guard Derrick Rose injured his ankle early in the preseason, the entire Bulls team felt his pain.

Rose hasn’t missed any regular season games, but he certainly wasn’t his explosive self early on.

“It was frustrating,” Rose said.

Rose eventually worked his way through the injury, but it wasn’t easy.

“He missed the whole month of training camp pretty much and that set him back, getting in condition and from a mental aspect of not being able to push off his ankle the way he wants to,” Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. “He has relied on athleticism a lot and when that was taken away from him, that obviously changes things.”

Now healthy, Rose has shown marked improvement after earning Rookie of the Year honors last year. This season he has been named to his first NBA all-star game, something that should become an annual occurrence over the next decade or so.

Not only were the Bulls coping with injuries to Rose, along with Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas, but Chicago was dealing earlier in the season with rumors of Del Negro’s potential departure.

The low point came when the Bulls squandered a 35-point lead and lost 102-98 to the visiting Sacramento Kings on Dec. 21. The Bulls would lose their next game in New York, 88-81 to drop to a season-high seven games under .500 (10-17). As recently as Jan. 8, the Bulls were 14-20, but then turned things around by winning 9 of their next 11 games.

Before that recent surge, nobody was receiving more heat than Del Negro. It seemed like every day there was a story speculating on his potential successor. Del Negro says when the team was at its lowest, his only recourse was to keep battling.

“I never get too excited or too down if you win or lose, you have to keep fighting and figure things out, especially with young teams,” he said. “Some of our guys are playing at a high level.”

The players, like everybody else were aware of the rumors, but like their coach, they had no choice but to block out all distractions and concentrate on trying to turn around a disappointing season.

“The players really kept together,” Rose said. “We weren’t worried about anything like that and we let the front office deal with that, it’s not our business. Our job is to come in, play hard and make this organization look good.”

Few have done more to make a team look good than Rose, one of the most explosive players breaking down a defenders in the NBA.

“The way he’s been playing he has really helped us turn the season around,” Bulls swingman John Salmons said.

Just when the team was regaining its collective health, Joakim Noah is now out until at least the all-star break with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

Earlier, Hinrich missed six games with left thumb sprain before returning the second week of December. Thomas was sidelined 22 games with a left radius fracture from Nov. 7 to Dec. 22.

Plus Luol Deng, says it took time to come back from right tibia stress fracture that cost him the final 22 games of last season and the playoffs.

“I missed all that time last year and in the summer I didn’t touch the ball and didn’t run,” Deng said. “I sat around, waiting for my bone to heal and I am starting to play better as the season goes on.”

The same, Deng says goes for Del Negro, who came to the Bulls without any head coaching experience.

“You can’t expect coach to be great right away after he got the job,” Deng said. “One thing he has done great is get better, and that is all you can ask.”

Seemingly, the Bulls have gotten over the worst, although a prolonged losing streak could invite that same old negativity to return.

This is a young team that still is searching for offense that hasn’t been replaced since Gordon opted to go to Detroit 

Still, if the Bulls can stay around the .500 mark that might be enough for an Eastern Conference playoff berth. Like last year, the Bulls hope to be playing their best basketball in April, when they won five of their last six regular season games to finish 41-41 before giving the 2008 champion Celtics all they could handle in the postseason.

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There is still plenty of time for players to redeem themselves this season, but either due to injury, poor performance, or a combination of both, there are a number are candidates for the most disappointing player this year in the NBA.

Here is a list of some of the players who haven’t met expectations to this point. Many of these players are having solid statistical seasons, but based on their past, it’s still below their expected level of production.

Check in with us at the end of the season to see if any of these players will be able to lift themselves off this undesired list. Also, we’d love to hear any suggestions of players who aren’t included, but very well could be.

The players are listed in alphabetical order.

Mike Conley, Memphis. He has gone from being the fourth pick in the 2007 draft to somebody on everybody’s all-rumor trade team. Conley is averaging just over 3 assists in 25 minutes per game and has lost his starting job to Kyle Lowry.  Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey, who was selected 15th in the first round of the 2007 draft, has already far exceeded Conley as a point guard.

Samuel Dalembert, 76ers. Dalembert is among the most congenial people in the NBA, but also among the most inconsistent. Last season he made huge strides, but this year the Sixers center has regressed and now he’s playing fewer minutes. He had started every game, but was averaging under six points and more than eight rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots in under 25 minutes per game. Last season he averaged 10.5 points and 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots in more than 33 minutes a game. This season he hasn’t been thrilled about his reduced minutes, but he must give the Sixers a reason to play him more.

Ricky Davis, Los Angeles Clippers. A player who has been known for giving instant offense, Davis has struggled with knee problems and has also received a five-game suspension for violating terms of the NBA’s drug program. He hasn’t played since Nov. 22 due to a left knee injury. Known for his ability to create instant offense, Davis has averaged just 4.3 points in 13 games.

Luol Deng, Chicago. An ankle injury has kept him out of the lineup since late December, but even when playing, Deng seemed to have lost his shooting touch. Before the season he signed a six-year contract for more than $70 million. Deng is averaging 13.3 points, but hasn’t come close to looking like the dangerous player of 2006-2007 when he averaged 18.8 points and shot 51.7 percent from the field.

Allen Iverson, The grading scale is much tougher on this nine-time all-star. Since being dealt earlier in the season from Denver, Iverson has averaged 18 points, which is about nine below his career average. True, with Detroit, he won’t get as many shots because of  the Pistons’ depth and his own reduced minutes. Iverson was averaging about three minutes less per game for Detroit from his career average. To his credit, he has tried to defer to his teammates.  Maybe it seems as if Iverson has been disappointing because the player he was traded for, Chauncey Billups, has made a world of difference in Denver and should be selected to the all-star team. Iverson is still a productive player, but he’s just not performing at an all-star level.

Jason Kidd, Dallas. Kidd has never really been the expected dominant player since being traded at the all-star break last season from New Jersey. The numbers look respectable – more than eight points and eight assists per game. He is averaging more than 35 minutes, which is about two minutes under his career mark. Many point guards would take Kidd’s numbers in a heartbeat, but this is a nine-time all-star, so like Iverson, he is judged on a higher level. Kidd will be 36 on March 23 and while he has some solid basketball left in him, he hasn’t begun to look like the dominant player of the past.

Tracy McGrady, Houston. McGrady has attempted to play despite a painful sore left knee that has kept him in and out of the lineup. To his credit, he has tried to play through the pain, but just hasn’t been the same following surgery in May. A seven-time all-star, McGrady is shooting under 40 percent from the field and isn’t close to the being the player who has averaged 21 or more points per season for eight straight years.

Mike Miller, Minnesota. Somebody with the shooting ability of Miller who is playing more than 31 minutes per game should not be averaging below double figures in scoring. Miller has missed several games this season with an ankle injury, but he also hasn’t been aggressively looking for his shot. In a recent three-game stretch he attempted only 18 shots. Never known as a great defender, Miller has the ability to stretch defenses. He is certainly a candidate to be traded and should be able to help a contender.

Jermaine O’Neal, Toronto. The acquisition of O’Neal in the summer was expected to significantly upgrade Toronto, but the Raptors have been one of the biggest disappointments this season. O’Neal has been listed as day to day, but at this writing, hasn’t played since Dec. 29 due to his troublesome right knee. While in the lineup, he has been solid, but not spectacular (14.0 ppg., 7.3 rpg. ). If totally healthy, and that’s a big if, he is capable of much more. He has not played as many as 70 games since 2003-2004 and one wonders if O’Neal can still make a major impact or just be a solid but unspectacular contributor.

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