Chicago Bulls: What Did We Learn from Rip Hamilton's Debut?

Rip Hamilton absolutely shone in his Chicago Bulls debut, and contributed far more than the 13 points and six assists his stat line might indicate. Bear in mind this was a preseason game, but in bearing that, remember that it is a favorable argument for the Bulls, not a dismissive one. 

There are three things that Hamilton's presence brings offensively. First, he is a shooting guard who can score and pass, and generally create offense. Second, he has a tremendous basketball IQ and does things that don't necessarily show up in box scores. Third his energy creates space on the floor, which makes the players around him better. 

First up, let's consider the argument that he creates offense. 

Consider these facts. In his first game ever with the Bulls Hamilton scored in double figures and had more than five assists. Keith Bogans never accomplished that in his 82 starts last year. 

Hamilton contributed to 25 points in his inaugural Bulls appearance. Bogans bested that one time all year last season, when he scored 17 points and had five assists, contributing to 27 points. The Bulls won that game. 

Out of the gate, with only five days of practicing with the starting five, Hamilton was able to essentially do as well or better than Bogans did in 82 tries with the Bulls. Imagine what happens when he has another five days of working with them!

The chemistry between Derrick Rose and Hamilton was stunning for a young relationship. That's the sort of thing that is only going to improve with time. Just at face value this is an obvious improvement. 

Tuesday night the Bulls had 30 assists. They only reached that number five times all year last year, and when they did so, they were undefeated. 

Yes, I know numbers don't tell everything, but usually when people say that they are saying so with the assumption that somehow saying that has the magical ability to make the argument disappear. Not so fast. No charlatanism allowed. 

The biggest thing that was visible wasn't reflected in the numbers, but only because what was visible in the game went beyond the numbers.

After a year of watching the Bulls and seeing this human black hole on offense that was essentially a place where plays went to die, we saw a playmaker in his place. 

The difference was far more than the improvement of one player, it was closer to being the addition of a player. For all intents and purposes, the Bulls were playing four-on-five most of the time last year. Bogans' "go-to" play was catching the ball and passing it back to Rose to give him another dribble.

The sad thing is, that's not a joke—I actually mean it. If they tracked it I wouldn't be surprised if 80 percent of all times Bogans touched the ball it was for the sole purpose of tapping it back to Rose. 

The thing is, when you effectively have one player in the backcourt, it changes the way the teams guard you. It allows them to cheat and either have the shooting guard come off his man and trap Rose, or clog the paint. 

Having Rip meant the Bulls had a player in which plays could go through, even if he wasn't the end of the play. 

With Hamilton's high basketball IQ, the passes and decisions he made were really impressive. The number of "hockey assists," where he passed the ball to a player who got the assist, was probably five or six in its own right. 

The Bulls bigs, including Carlos Boozer, are adept passers and they are always looking to pass. Hamilton often moved the ball through a chain that ended with someone getting to the rim or with a wide open jumper. 

Hamlton generates ball movement, and that generates many scoring opportunities. Further, because they were so open, they made their shots. On the whole Chicago shot over .500 and made 78 percent of field goals that were assisted.

Last season they never accomplished that feat. However, when they made over half their shots and had more than two thirds of them assisted, they were 12-0.

Please, don't commit the lazy mistake of arguing that this is merely some statistical anomaly. There is solid basketball reasoning behind the conclusion and that's the evidence that supports the conclusion.

The fact is that the Bulls have the best defense in the NBA. When they can be efficient on offense they win. Hamilton helps them to be more efficient on offense.  Those 30 assists don't have his name by them, but the reality is that the Bulls are getting more assists in large part because of the things Hamilton does. 

Whether it's pulling players to him when he's coming off of screens or generally running around making them chase him, or making the extra pass—or heck, even making the assist himself—the ball was so much more alive Tuesday night versus the Pacers than we were used to seeing. 

Finally, Hamilton was shooting in that 10-15 point range, where the Bulls were struggling to get points last year. Only five teams averaged fewer points than the Bulls 2.3 per game last season. Their field goal percentage was just 37.9 percent from that range, which was 22nd in the league. 

You're not going to win your rings form that range but you're not going to win your rings if you can't shoot from there either. The teams that tore up that range were Philadelphia (who have their own flaws), Dallas and the Lakers. The last three champions were second and third from that range. 

Keith Bogans didn't hit a single shot from that range last year. In fact, he's hit two from that range in his entire NBA career! 

Hamilton, in his first preseason game, surpassed Bogans' total from last year. 

Honestly it doesn't matter how many he makes. The fact that he missed two others helped too. The fact he can make them means that teams can't simply crowd the paint. They have to come out and guard him.

Don't think that his being there and Carlos Boozer dropping 24 are mutually exclusive things. Don't think that his being here and Derrick Rose suddenly discovering the pick and roll are mutually exclusive things. Rip's ability to score from that range forces defenders to come out on him and guard him. 

Beyond that, guarding Hamilton is akin to guarding the Energizer Bunny. He did stop moving from time to time, but to be fair, it was either when someone was at the free-throw line, or when he was on the bench. 

Again that creates space, which creates easier points. The Bulls scored 38 of their points in the paint—five better than what they averaged last year. They had an offensive rating of 111—three points better than what they had last season. 

And again this is just the preseason. All of these things are only going to get better. Oh, and just in case your wondering all that offensive magnificence came without there being a hitch in the defense. 

Watching the game last night, I found myself thinking, this is what it's like to have an offense! Would you believe that the Bulls could dominate a game in which Rose only attempted nine shots?

So this was my next thought. Who is the second best player on the Bulls. You could credibly argue that it is any of the four on the starting five. Depending on what you mean you can argue this is the best starting five in the NBA. 

If you consider the adage "you're only as good as your weakest link" it's got to be the Bulls. You could make a very credible argument that everyone on their starting five is top 10 at their position league-wide. 

Add to that the fact the Bulls bench had the second best efficiency differential in the NBA last year and what you're talking about is a very deep rotation. 

Chris Webber called the Richard Hamilton signing the most underrated signing of the offseason, and Tuesday night he proved why. He was really the missing piece.

The Bulls were a beautiful woman with a wart on her nose. Keith Bogans was the proverbial wart. It was hard to appreciate her beauty because of the wart. Now the wart is gone, and Hamilton just complements the team so well and his being there makes everyone, including Rose, a smidgen better.

This team is more than a little better than the team that won the most games last year; they are a lot better. It won't be long before the rest of the NBA world starts to realize it. Rip Hamilton has a lot to do with it. 

Incidentally I will be live blogging the Bulls @ Lakers game on Christmas Day. Feel free to join me. Just check in here at Bleacher Report to join me for the game.