Ronnie Brewer's performance during the 2011-2012 campaign for the Bulls saw him go from being a guy who made you take notice of his play on the court to being someone, who at times, you almost forgot he was out there.
The usually energetic Brewer, who was brought to Chicago for his defensive accumen, seemed to have fallen out of favor with Tom Thibodeau for whatever reason this year. When Rip Hamilton got hurt, Brewer was named as his replacement and actually started 43 of 66 games this season and playing anywhere from 25 to 35 minutes a game.
But by April, he was struggling to get more than 20 minutes in an outing and in the playoffs, Thibs actually benched him in Game 3 of the Sixers series, his first “DNP-CD” as a member of the Bulls.
To his credit, Brewer never complained and bounced back in Game 5 of the series to put up six points, eight rebounds and three steals in a must-win game for Chicago, but not having his name called in an outing was a clear indication that something was wrong.
Statistically this season, Ronnie Brewer's numbers were definitely down.
His field goal percentage dropped from 48 percent last year to 43 percent this year, but the biggest dip came in his free-throw shooting numbers. While he's not a great foul shooter (he's right at 69 percent for his career), last year he hit 65 percent of his foul shots, compared to this year where he connected on only 56 percent, the lowest such percentage over his seven year career.
A week after the Bulls were eliminated, Brewer appeared on ESPN 1000's “The Waddle & Silvy Show” and said that he hoped to be back in a Bulls uniform next season, although it's much more likely that he won't.
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"I liked the situation I was in with the Bulls," Brewer said. "I feel like we have a great team. The chemistry was bar none compared to the other teams I've been on. We've had a lot of success, we've won a lot of games in the regular season and had some kind of success in the playoffs. I think everybody's goal is to win a championship, and the Bulls, if we didn't have injuries this year, could have been right in the mix for that. I'd love to stay with the Bulls. The fans have treated me great, the city has treated me well, and it's a first-class organization so I'd like to stay there."
Grade: C-
