Chicago Bulls Are Handling Richard Hamilton's Return the Right Way

For a lot of Chicago Bulls fans, the acquisition of Richard Hamilton satisfied a gaping offensive void at the shooting guard position.

Hamilton’s consistent mid-range game was going to force defenders to back off of their usual strategy of ganging up on Derrick Rose, and his basketball I.Q. was going to give Chicago another playmaker.

After a promising start that saw Hamilton averaging 12 points and 2.5 assists over the first four games, Hamilton went down with a groin injury, then again with a thigh bruise.

When the 2012 All-Star break began, Hamilton had missed 13 straight games and 24 of the Bulls’ first 35 contests.

Now that the waiting game for Hamilton’s return is over, there is still lingering concern about how to ensure that he is able to compete regularly, and most importantly, that he is able to play when the postseason arrives.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has acknowledged that the Bulls organization was being very patient with Hamilton’s most recent recovery efforts, according to ESPNChicago.com.

That patience was very evident in the time it took for the training staff to clear Hamilton to play and has continued with how Thibodeau has played Hamilton since his return.

When Chicago opened up the second half of its season at home against the New Orleans Hornets, Hamilton started but played just 17 minutes.

Against the San Antonio Spurs, Hamilton saw 16 minutes of court time.

Despite the time away and the limited time he’s had in his return, it’s been obvious just how important Hamilton is to the Bulls offense.

He was able to dish out five assists against the Hornets, and even though he failed to register much in the box score against the Spurs, he still commanded the attention of San Antonio’s defense, making it easier for the other Bulls players to contribute.

Thibodeau’s limited use of Hamilton seems like the best way to proceed for the near future.

Looking at the minutes Hamilton was logging when he kept re-injuring himself, his problems seemed to correlate with him regularly playing more than 30 minutes per game.

Keeping his minutes below 20 means that Hamilton can ease back into playing shape while minimizing the risk of re-aggravating his injuries.

As the season progresses, there will be a gradual but noticeable uptick in his playing time, and if all goes well, Hamilton will be back to regular form by the time Chicago hits the playoffs.

There are a lot of Bulls fans happy to see Hamilton back on the court, and there’s no question that Hamilton is happy as well.

Hamilton has been dealing privately with the death of his grandmother in February, and he told the Chicago Tribune that not being able to play has made coping somewhat difficult.

He can at least rest comfortably knowing that his team has his best interest in mind all the way.