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The Chicago Bulls‘ loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday night saw the emergence of dual storylines that Bulls fans have become very familiar with: Derrick Rose sitting out with an injury and the team’s diminutive third-string point guard lighting up the scoreboard.
In 2012-13 it was Nate Robinson, in 2013-14 it was D.J. Augustin and it seems that Aaron Brooks will follow their lead in 2014-15. The 29-year-old was brilliant against the Celtics, putting up 26 points on 9-15 from the field to go with eight assists and just two turnovers. He singlehandedly fueled a comeback in the fourth quarter that brought Chicago within two points of the Celtics after it trailed by 16 to begin the period.
With Rose and the Bulls clearly intent on playing it safe with even the slightest injury, Brooks will be counted on as a significant contributor for much of the rest of the season. At this point it would be quite a surprise if Rose plays more than 50 games.
Of the trio of small, high-scoring point guards Chicago has rotated through its backcourt since 2012-13, Brooks may very well be the best of them. He’s undeniably a more effective defensive player than Robinson and (especially) Augustin, and appears to be a better natural facilitator than both of them as well.
It wasn’t just Saturday against Boston, either; Brooks has been consistently solid from the beginning of the season, scoring 10 or more points in all but one of the Bulls’ games so far. He has shot tremendously from beyond the arc and has looked much better than Chicago’s supposed second-string point guard Kirk Hinrich.
Thus far, Brooks has been yet another bargain barrel home run for Gar Forman.
Sean Sarcu is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter or add him to your network on Google.
