Despite their playoff disappointment, the Chicago Bulls by and large had another successful season in the NBA this year, proving that last year was no fluke. The team won their division, finished with the best record in the NBA and in the Eastern conference and had the number one seed, and that's all that matters, yo.
Not really because a championship would have been nice, but what can you do when you best players are falling to injury like dominoes?
In any case, now that the conference finals are fast approaching, it's a good time to grade the team individually based on their performance this season, from the last man off the bench all the way up to head coach. So let's get started:
Brian Scalabrine
Scal saw action in 28 games this season and comparatively speaking, made the most of his minutes on the floor. He averaged 1.1 points per game and shot 47 percent from the field. You can't really ask for too much else from the last guy off the bench and if you find anything bad to say about him, it's that he either made just one three-pointer all season or only took seven.
Either way, Scal is one of the good guys in the league and there's a reason why he's a fan favorite, not just in Chicago, but everywhere. He's a funny guy, has a great personality, he always takes time to sign every autograph for kids and fans after he goes through his pre-game shootaround routine whether on the road or at home, and there's not many players who can have their name chanted by 18,000 people and it sounds cool (SCAL-A-BRI-NE!!), especially when he scores and people go crazy.
Hard as it is to imagine, but seeing Scal get into the game and score a bucket is one of the things that fans come out to see and it's not often the last man off the bench is also one of the main attractions.
Unfortunately, it may be the end of the line for Brian Scalabrine, not just in a Chicago Bulls uniform, but in the NBA in general. At 34 years old, he'll pretty much always be relegated to a bench role and only seeing minutes in blowout games. But Scal definitely has a future in either broadcasting or coaching which seems to be the most likely transitions as he moves on to the next phase of his career and basketball life.
Local
Brian Scalabrine has played in the NBA for 11 years and although he was never a star by any stretch, he was still beloved by fans around the league. How many guys can say that about their careers?
GRADE: C-
