The Chicago Bulls 2012-2013 campaign has officially come to a close. Now that we are weeks removed from the end of the season and have had time to be reflective, it’s time to take a look back at the performances of the members of this Bulls squad and brief look ahead at the future. The following is the eighth part of a series of nine posts detailing this year’s squad. Each player is assigned a season grade based off of their performance on general preseason expectations.
Previous player capsules can be found here: Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich, Taj Gibson, Nate Robinson
Name: Marco Belinelli
Height/Weight: 6’5″ / 192 lbs
Age: 27
NBA Seasons: 6
Regular Season Stats: 73 games, 9.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 0.6 spg, 39.5 FG%, 83.9 FT%
Post-Season Stats: 12 games, 11.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 0.4 spg, 41.1 FG%, 87.9 FT%
Season Grade: B-
Recap:
I dont know about other people’s expectations for him, but for me I didn’t expect too much from Marco Belinelli this past season. Having watched him in the past, I knew he was average at best on defense and offensively he was simply a solid role player and didn’t expect him to do much better than he has in the past. Belinelli did not disappoint.
Throughout the season Belinelli continued to play as he had for his previous three teams though there were some fairly unexpected drops in production for him (ex: three point shooting). Overall, Belinelli had a fairly average season by his standards and should receive a C. However, because of his stretch in the middle of the season as a starter when he led Chicago to many victories behind ultra-efficient 20+ point games, I feel compelled to give him a higher grade.
Future:
Belinelli was also signed to a one year deal last offseason which now makes him an unrestricted free agent. Previously Belinelli signed the Mini-Mid Level Exception which paid him approximately $2 million for the season. Given that his play neither improved nor declined, he will likely be valued at the same price. For the time being it’s unclear whether the Bulls will pursue resigning Belinelli in the coming months or if they will look to replace him with a three point shooter from the draft or free agency.
Underrated evaluation, Bulls don’t deserve him.
I thought Belinelli deserved a “B”. He showed that he could create his own shot and he could facilitate the offense. The Bulls should try to bring him back if they can’t get Korver. will take a new replacement 2-3 months to become effective in the defensive scheme that Belinelli already knows.