Chicago Bulls: Is Rip Hamilton's Shoulder Injury a Blessing in Disguise?

The Chicago Bulls have played a total of 44 regular season games so far; of those 44 games, starting shooting guard Richard Hamilton has played in a measly 16 contests.

Chicago’s apparent answer to the scoring void at the shooting guard spot has been more than questionable when it comes to his durability.

A majority of the games Hamilton missed was due to a lingering groin pull; the more recent contests he has sat out are because of a bruised shoulder.

Bulls fans hoping to see a more dynamic, fluid offense this season have been very frustrated knowing that the catalyst for that offensive flow has spent more than half of his time watching instead of playing.

Despite the criticisms questioning Hamilton’s addition and the increasing speculation that Chicago should use the upcoming trade deadline as an excuse to replace him, there is a silver lining in this dark cloud.

The point has been made before, but it seems necessary to make it again: Hamilton was not brought in to help the Bulls improve their regular-season play.

Chicago has the best record in the league despite dealing with more injuries to key players than probably any other team.

Hamilton’s contributions are needed for a postseason push that will more than likely include a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals with the Miami Heat.

It is not unknown to anyone that a lack of scoring support for Derrick Rose, especially from the other guard spot, was one of the biggest contributing factors to Chicago getting drummed out of the playoffs by Miami.

Since Hamilton is a consistent mid-range shooter and a decent playmaker, he more than makes up for that deficiency.

So, how is him being hurt now a good thing?

The answer lies in the nature of Hamilton’s most troublesome injury, the pulled groin.

One needs plenty of rest in order to completely recover from a leg muscle injury; that accounts for Hamilton sitting for 13 straight games for the All-Star break.

The Bulls were taking an extremely cautious approach to Hamilton’s treatment because on two other occasions earlier this season, Hamilton only sat for few games and wound up going right back out from re-aggravating the injury when he returned.

Even when he came back after the break, head coach Tom Thibodeau limited Hamilton to fewer than 20 minutes per game.

All was going well until Hamilton’s collision with Roy Hibbert of the Indiana Pacers added a shoulder ailment to the guard’s list of season maladies.

Since there was no structural damage to the shoulder, there is a good chance that once he has recovered from that, he will be fully recovered.

The time Hamilton will continue to spend treating his shoulder will be time added to resting his frequently-agitated groin pull.

Once he returns to the lineup, Thibodeau can continue to ease Hamilton back into playing shape with a gradual increasing of game minutes, and by the time the playoffs arrive, Bulls fans will see the player they spent all season pining for.

In the meantime, those fans can take solace in knowing that Thibodeau has been dealing very well with the personnel erraticism, and other critical players, like Ronnie Brewer, are getting some much-needed playing time to bolster their game.

Yes, it has been hard to watch the $5-million man wear suits more than he suits up, but that’s no reason to call for his replacement.

The playoffs will be the venue in which the arguments for Hamilton’s value will be made.

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