Insider Special: Camp Battles ~ Bulls

[Weez]

Time is now for Chandler and Curry

By Terry Brown

NBA Insider

Monday, October 20

Updated: October 20

1:31 PM ET

This is the year Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry become the devastating tandem the Chicago Bulls envisioned when they traded away former franchise player Elton Brand in 2001 to put the two preps together.

Right?

Then that would mean that this is also the year the Bulls decide what to do with power forward Marcus Fizer, drafted in 2000, and power forward Lonny Baxter, drafted in 2002, and whatever power forward they choose to select in next year's lottery that reminds them most of Elton Brand.

Chicago Bulls

Point guard Exp Ht '02-03 Stats Notes

Jamal Crawford 3 6-5 10.7 ppg,

4.2 apg Time to uncork this kid and see what he can really do. In the final six games of last season, he averaged 25.3 points, 6.8 assists and 4.8 boards. In the first six games of this preseason, he's averaging 18.5 points and 6.8 assists. So, either the Bulls did a great job of developing this guy, or they forced out their old GM, fired his original coach, wasted a No. 2 draft pick and waited way too long to hand him this job.

Kirk Hinrich R 6-3 -- The truth of the matter is that Jamal Crawford and a first-year Hinirich will be much more productive than Jamal Crawford and a rookie Jay Williams ever were.

Roger Mason Jr. 1 6-5 1.8 ppg,

0.7 apg He's getting a lot of minutes in the preseason, but if they really thought this guy could make it, why draft Hinrich after drafting Jay Williams after trading for Jamal Crawford on draft day?

Shooting guard Exp Ht '02-03 Stats Notes

Jalen Rose 9 6-8 22.1 ppg,

4.8 apg Now, we all know Jalen Rose can score 20 a game in this league. But what the Bulls really want to know is if he can, once again, average 6 or so rebounds and assists a game. He still needs to carry this team somewhat, but not necessarily in the scoring column anymore. And let's not forget, in his first 30 games with the Bulls, he shot 47 percent. In his last 82, he shot 40 percent and actually scored one fewer point per game.

Trenton Hassell 2 6-5 4.2 ppg,

3.1 rpg Second-round pick in his second season has been more than serviceable, but since when has that ever been a compliment in this league?

Kendall Gill 13 6-5 8.7 ppg,

3 rpg Veteran guard should have more than enough in the tank to fill this role, even if this is his fourth team in the last four seasons -- especially since his last season was better than the previous two.

Small forward Exp Ht '02-03 Stats Notes

Donyell Marshall 9 6-9 13.4 ppg,

9 rpg If you didn't know that he was once the fourth overall pick of his draft, you'd swear he was one of the most underrated players in the league. Doesn't cause distractions, cleans up after himself on the boards and you never have to run any offense through him to get his points.

Scottie Pippen 16 6-8 10.8 ppg,

4.5 rpg The last time he was in Chicago, he was putting up numbers superior to Jalen Rose's and was still the second-best player on the team. This time, he's putting up vastly inferior numbers and, at times, will still be the second-best player on this team. But isn't it nice to finally feel wanted.

Eddie Robinson 4 6-9 5.7 ppg,

3.1 rpg On August 7, 2001, Eddie Robinson signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago Bulls, and both sides have wanted to hit the reset button ever since.

Power forward Exp Ht '02-03 Stats Notes

Tyson Chandler 2 7-1 9.2 ppg,

6.9 rpg A 20 percent increase in minutes last season resulted in, roughly, a 30 percent increase in points and rebounds with a shooting percentage that jumped from 49 percent to 53 percent. Do that this year, and he'll be averaging 12 points and 9 boards with a lot more room still to grow, and just in time to start renegotiating those rookie salaries.

Marcus Fizer 3 6-8 11.7 ppg,

5.7 rpg It's a pretty good stretch to think that you can draft two high school kids and develop them into a starting power forward and center combo in the NBA. It's a really big one to hope that you can do it with another young power forward already in the stable (who averaged the same number of minutes in his third season as he did in his first) ...

Lonny Baxter 1 6-8 4.8 ppg,

3 rpg ... And nearly impossible to think that you can do it after adding another one (who averaged half as many minutes as any of them) the very next year.

Center Exp Ht '02-03 Stats Notes

Eddy Curry 2 6-11 10.5 ppg,

4.4 rpg There are times I think we're actually boring him. And there are times I firmly believe he is boring us. He shoots 58 percent on the season but can't seem, as of yet, to convince his coaches that he deserves more than 20 minutes a game over an 82-game stretch. Nonetheless, we keep watching and waiting. Or is it him doing the watching and waiting?

Corie Blount 10 6-10 3 ppg,

4.1 rpg Gotta be ticked to look up at this depth chart and realize he can still out-rebound Curry.