The Bulls decided to start bringing Ben Gordon off of the bench. Gordon’s season numbers are starting to look more in line with his talent than they did early in the year. Gordon has played in 31 games this season for the Bulls and he is averaging 36 minutes, 19.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. His shooting has been off most of the season but it’s up to 41.8% from the floor and 36.4% from three point range with his recent surge. The Bulls need Gordon to keep shooting well because he’s their best offensive player.

Andres Nocioni has been outstanding off of the bench in December for the Bulls. Nocioni has played in 5 games (0 starts) in December and he is averaging 27.8 minutes, 20.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. The Bulls should consider starting him until some of the other Bulls start shooting better.

The Bulls are off to a terrible start this season but you can’t blame that on Luol Deng. Deng has played in 10 games this season and he’s averaged 34.4 minutes, 16.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. The Bulls need their other young players to start playing like Deng or it’s going to be a long season for the Bulls.

Lost in the fact that the Bulls season ended in disappointment was how much Ben Gordon improved as a basketball player over the season. He played in all 82 games for the Bulls and he averaged 33.0 minutes, 21.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He also improved his shooting a little bit as he hit 45.5% from the floor, 41.3% from 3-point range and 86.4% from the free throw line. Look for Gordon to be an even better player next season for the Bulls.

Gordon’s career numbers almost all improved due to his fine season. Gordon has now played in 244 games and he’s averaged 29.5 minutes, 17.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He improved his FG shooting to 43.1% and his FT % to 84.3%. His three point % dipped a tad to 41.8%, but that’s still excellent. Look for Gordon’s career numbers to continue to improve for the next few seasons as he’s now a starting player instead of a 6th man.

With Ben Wallace a little bit nicked up the last two weeks the Bulls needed someone to step up and Tyrus Thomas has. He has played in 5 games the last two weeks and he’s averaged 13.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. He also is shooting an amazing 61% from the floor in those 5 games. The Bulls have been waiting for Thomas to mature as a player to take advantage of his outstanding athletic ability and it seems like he’s finally starting to get it.