E’Twaun Moore: A Forgotten Piece in an Abysmal Bulls Season
It’s hard to find much that went right for the Chicago Bulls this past season, but one of the things that did was the play of backup guard E’Twaun Moore.
A nagging hamstring injury cut E’Twaun Moore’s season short for the Bulls this year, but that doesn’t take away from Moore’s production off the bench.
Most fans would probably relate Moore to his 19-point performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder two seasons ago with Derrick Rose recovering from meniscus surgery and Jimmy Butler on the shelf with a shoulder injury.
Moore is a savvy veteran that you know what he’ll provide: orchestration of an offense, (improved) perimeter shooting and his on-ball defense in the post is severely underrated among other features.
Although the numbers may not show Moore’s impact as a role player — a -1.0 net rating and a 104.6 defensive rating — the Bulls would be better off re-signing him as their backup point guard over the summer. Moore is slated to be an unrestricted free agent, along with fellow backup guard Aaron Brooks, Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol.
With Justin Holiday‘s mini late-season push, the Bulls could use a pair of 27-year-old guards that can come off the pine and lighten the load for Rose and Butler next season. Staggering Rose and Butler’s minutes will likely become a trend in 2016-17 (if they’re still together), but Moore is someone who can help on both ends of the floor and help keep the minutes count lower for the two stars.
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The advanced numbers may not work in Moore’s favor (thanks to playing with role players off the bench for a poor defensive team), but his shooting numbers are something to focus and take away from. Since coming into the league during the 2011-12 season with the Boston Celtics, Moore’s shooting percentages across the board have increased every season.
In the span of five seasons, Moore has gone from an overall 38.1 percent shooter to a 48.1 percent shooter from the field, including this season where he shot 45.2 percent from three-point land alone. Moore’s best month this season (February) included six double-digit scoring efforts, while averaging 13.1 points per game on 47.5 percent shooting and making 50 percent of his attempts from long range.
“E’Twaun is catching and shooting now,” Derrick Rose said in a February interview with the Chicago Tribune‘s K.C. Johnson. “I always love a player like that because the way they’re playing me, everyone is keying in on me, sagged in, making sure I don’t get in the lane. Having a player like that who is able to knock down those shots spreads the floor.”
“He’s very solid. We don’t take him for granted at all.”
Think back his game-winning shot over all-world point guard Russell Westbrook two seasons ago.
Catch and shoot (and win the game).
Moore’s contract situation may be a little murky, plus the NBA’s new salary cap will boom to an estimated at $92 million next season.
But, that doesn’t change the fact that E’Twaun Moore has earned the right to remain with his (somewhat) hometown team. (Moore won an Indiana high school state hoop title with East Chicago Central High School against current New Orleans Pelicans guard Eric Gordon back in 2007.)
Next: The Bulls have some tough choices to make heading into a longer summer
He’s a reliable, less expensive option for the Bulls in the back court and should be a part of the Bulls in 2016-17 and beyond.